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.J. Ilciirv Ilavnie. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

A MEMOIR OF A REGIMENT OF VOLUNTEER 
INFANTRY FAMOUS IN THE CIVIL WAR OF 
FIFTY YEARS AGO FOR ITS DRILL, BRAV- 
ERY, AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICES. 



„/> EDITED BY 

J /henry HAYNIE, of Company D. 

Author of "PARIS PAST AND PRESENT," "THE 
CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS," Etc.; "CHEV- 
ALIER IN THE LEGION d'HONNEUR 
OF FRANCE." Etc. 



ILLUSTRATED 



"Let me review the scene. 
And summon from the shadowy^ Past 
The forms that once had heeen." 

-LONGFELLOW 






Copyrighted by 

XTXETEENTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY 

VETERAN CLUB, 

19I_>. 



M. A. nONOUri: & CO., Chicago 



/^. 



J^ 



/^\ n\ h r\ t\ c\ ch 



in 



rO ALL THOSE, DEAD OR LIV- 
ING, WHO SERVED IN THE 
OLD REGIMENT, LOYAL, COURA- 
GEOUS MEN, WHOSE NAMES WILL 
EVER BE THE PRIDE OF THEIR 
DESCENDANTS, -AN EMULATION 
FOR SUBSEQUENT GENERATIONS,- 
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



PREFACE. 

At a Regimental Reunion of the Nineteenth Illinois Volunteer 
Infantry, held under the auspices of the Regiment's Veteran 
Club, in Memorial Hall, Chicago, October 13 and 14, 1911, it 
was unanimously voted to have something in the way of a 
History, or Memoir, of the old organization prepared and pub- 
lished as soon as possible. The following comrades were present 
at this meeting: Company A — JohnE. Vreeland, James Gaffney, 
John Q. Fergus, Robert R. Sampson, James Bloomfield, Joseph 
M. Spahn, and J. F. Nelson; Company C — James C. McElhose, 
Frank Applebee, John Ives, and Miles Martin; Company D — 
J. Henry Haynie, and John Marshall; Company E — David F. 
Bremner, John Young, David McArthur, Thomas King, and 
Thomas H. Agnew; Company F — A. F. Scharf; Company H — 
John Dedrick, C. Van Order, and John Mercer; Company I — D. 
B. Morehouse, Howard F. Beardsley, and Charles G. Heath; Com- 
pany K — George Eckart, James Fenton, Andrew Burns, William 
H. Christian, Albert Heller, August Brinkman, and William 
Butler. 

In the fraternal, yet animated, discussion which prevailed it 
was stated that such a history had been comtemplated from time 
to time. Finally, it was fittingly decided that a "Memoir" was 
a much desired purpose of this Regimental Reunion, and, toward 
accomplishing this work, a committee of three were chosen to 
gather in all information possible. Comrade Haynie, of Com- 
pany D, now a resident of Newton Center, Massachusetts, — 
this was his first attendance since the members of the Nineteenth 
have been holding these gatherings — offered his professional 
•services in the carrying out of this commendable attempt; and, 
by taking the material thus secured, adding to the same his own 
researches, knowledge, and recollections, and putting the whole 
into proper shape for publication, both he and the Committee 
now have the great pleasure of submitting the results of their 
joint labors in the present volume. All things in the book not 
duly credited to other sources are from Comrade Haynie's pen, 



Tin: Nineteenth Illinois 

• hrroforc ros|X)rusibiIity not only for roinpihilion hut for opinions 
rxprpssinl, and an to the facts, must rest with him, which rcspon- 
sibihty he chcH'rfulIy a-ssumes. It is to be noted, however, that 
many of these pages were i)repare<l originally either for the re- 
viv(Hl Zouave (iazette, or as |)ajiers to be read at our occasional 
gatherings since the War. 

At thi^. Iteunion of IIM 1 every comrade i)re.sent was personally 
urged — the absent members of the Club were subsequently re- 
quest e<l by letter — to lend a helping hand toward this good work, 
IM'rliaps the last we may ever give of ourselves to posterity. 
These appeals met with hearty and prompt response in some few 
instances, but it is to be regret tetl that many neglected the "call," 
not to arms but to the i)en, though no doubt satisfactory reasons 
woulil be furnishetl if th<' delinquents were asked to explain their 
forget fulness. And now that the ta.sk of love is finished and the 
IxMik is out, we con)mend "The Nineteenth Illinois" to all the 
surviving members of the Regiment; likewise to their families, 
to their innumerable relatives and friends, and to the American 
public generally, as a work which we beheve to be of real value, 
and well worth the reading. 

The Nineteenth was mustered into tlic Union .service at 
Chicago, Illinois, on the ."seventeenth of June, 1S61, with thirty- 
seven othcers and nine hundred and sixteen enlisted men; it re- 
ceived during its term of service (three years) 264 recruits, mak- 
ing a total of 1,1S0 enrolled volunteers in its ranks. Of this ag- 
gregate force — officers and men — ninety-seven were killed or 
die<l of their wounds or injuries, one hundred and two were more 
or less seriously wounded, seventy-four were taken prisoners and 
held, souie in .\nder.sonville, some in Libby Prison, the others in 
different places, for various lengths of time. Besides these, 
eleven were missing in action and have never been heard from; 
ten dicfl in rebel prisons; forty-five from di.sciuses, two hundred 
and fifle«-n were discharged on surgeon's certificate of disability, 
and nine becau.se of wountls received in battle. Meanwhile, 
twenty-six enlisted men were promoted to be line officers in our 
own regiment, and eleven as officers into other regiments. We 
also l(wt an entire company (G), it having been reorganized into 
a battery; and on our leaving the front one hundred and fifty- 
two recruits were left behind to serve out their un(>xpired terms. 
Many of these, with nunieroiis Conir.'idcs in the Hejrjnient who 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

had ri'-cnlistcd as Veterans, liad the great privilege of particir.at- 
ing in one of the most remarkable, we might even say, unparalled, 
military events in history, the Grand Review in Washington at 
the end of the War. 

While in the service our Regiment was engaged in innumerable 
skirmishes, many combats, half a score of engagements, and at 
least four great battles, viz.: Stone River, Chickamauga, Mis- 
sionary Ridge, and Resaca. It travelled by rail about 2,400 
miles, by steamboat over six hundred, and marched quite 1,()00 
m.ore, making a total of something like 5,211 miles. Every mile 
of country over which we trod has long since changed its 
aspect, but will ever be historical ground. Unknown, unmapped, 
uninviting places were baptized in human blood, thus receiving 
names to be chronicled as shrines for future patriots. But these 
pilgrims of j^ears to come will perhaps have less enthusiasm, less 
keen scent for local color, than might be displayed by the sur- 
vivors of those stirring events of grim visaged war were we to 
return to where our company, or our battery, or our squadron 
fought. If such re-visit to battlefields were practicable and really 
made, we should probably be saying to one another: "There's 
where our Regiment was;" or, "Here's where the 'Johnnies' 
gave way;" or, "This is the very spot where I lost my blanket;" 
or, "Yonder is where we charged Adam's brigade;" or, and much 
more softly, "It seems to me that this was where So-ijnd-So was 
killed." 

Leaving Chicago the twelfth of July, ISGl, and going south- 
ward, after we were done with Missouri, until we came finally 
to the town of Ackworth, in Cobb county, Georgia, only a few 
miles from "Kennesaw, dark in its glory," the Nineteenth, on 
the ninth of June, 1864, for the first time turned back from the 
enemy, bade goodbye forever to the Fourteenth Corps and the 
Army of the Cumberland, and arrived at Chicago almost three 
years after our departure from that city. There, in Camp Fry, 
at the far end of the North Side — it was at the extreme end of 
the South Side that we had been mustered in — on the ninth of 
July, 1864, the Regiment — twenty-eight officers and three hun- 
dred and thirty-three men — was mustered out of service; and we, 
its few survivors could look back with the proud satisfaction of 
knowing that Ours was considered the best drilled Regiment in 
the Western, if not in all the Armies. During its service it luul 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

(•nwj**-*! fiflils iiiul fonliNl rivrrs. climlxil inoiintains ami stniKKl«'<l 
thruugh fon^sts. in the face of ii tlt'spcrato foe. It had hiborcd 
har«l nlonn terrible roa<l.s and suffered severely from eanip (iis- 
iiwes. It was often sorely tried, and sometimes the men mur- 
niiire<l, hut were ever rea<ly, aye, eager, to meet the enemy. 
Thousands on thousands of soldiers at the front, and hundreds 
of thousands of citizens at home, harl sung a grand war hymn 
com|)ose«l in lionor of its supreme courage at Stone River. The 
ilhistrious an«l himented author of "America" WTOte a stirring 
|H)em to conunemorate the valor of its .soldiers; and all of them — 
the dead and the living— may feel glorifieil by reason of having 
once Wlonge<l to sin li :i Hcniincnt. 



It is with profound sorrow we announce that since the above 
wiLs written our greatly beloved comrade, soldier and author, 
J. Henry Haynie, departed this life at his home, Newton Center, 
Massachusetts, on May 14, 1912. 

•Time laid his hand U|)on his heart 

Clenlly, not smiting it, 
Hut as a harjjer lays his open i)alm upon his harp 

To deaden its vibrations." 

Our late comrade had an enviable war record. He enlisted 
April 15. IStil, on President Lincoln's first call for troops and 
serve«l continuously until the muster-out of his regiment July 9th, 
1K64. 

He W!i,s seriously woundeil and taken pri.soner at the battle 
of Stone River, Murfreesboro, Teimes.see, was exchanged and 
rejoine<i his regiment on the eve of tlie C.'hickaniauga campaign. 
Hetook j)art in the battleof Chickamauga and shared in the bril- 
liant aMs^uilt of Missionary Ridge. 

In the .\tlanta camjjaign he wius engaged at Tunnel Hill, 
Rocky Face Ridge, Rattle of Re.saca and other battles and en- 
gagements of th<' cami)aign u|) to the occupation of .Xckworth, 
(Jeorgia; on all occiusions with distinguished gallantry. 

Prominent in the (Irand Army of the Republic he was Com- 
mander of ('harl«*s Ward Post, Newton, Massachu.setts, was 
delegate at large to the National Encampment in 1907 and 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Assistant, Inspector General on the staff of National Conmuuider 
General R. B. Brown. 

We desire to place upon record our deep sense of the loss 
sustained by his loving and devoted wife and children, by his 
host of friends and by his former comrades who shared with 
him in the stirring events so graphically detailed by him in this 
volume. We deeply mourn his loss. 

David F. Bremner, Company E, 
John Young, Company E, 
James Bloomfield, Company A, 

Committee. 



The Nineteenth Illinois H 

WHO'LL SAVE THE LEFT?" 



Through three long days the battle raged 

In front of Murfreesboro; 
And cannon balls tore up the earth 

As plows turn up the furrow. 
Brave soldiers by the hundreds fell 

In fierce assault and sally, 
While bursting shell hiss'd, screamed, and fell 

Like demons in the valley. 

The Northman and the Southron met 

In bold defiant manner; 
Now victory perched on Union Flag, 

And now on Rebel banner. 
But see! Upon the Union's left 

Bear down in countless numbers — 
With shouts that seem to wake the hills 

From their eternal slumbers. 

The Rebel hosts, whose iron rain 

Beats down our weaker forces, 
And covers all the battle-plain 

With torn and mangled corses! 
Still onward press the Rebel hordes, 

More boldly, fiercer, faster; 
But Negley's practiced eye discerns 

The swift and dread disaster. 

"Who'll save the Left?" his voice rang out 

Above the roar of battle. 
"The Nineteenth!" shouted Colonel Scott, 

Amid the muskets' rattle. 
"The Nineteenth be it— make the charge!" 

(Juick as the words were given 
The Nineteenth fell upon the foe 

As lightning falls from Heaven. 



12 'I'm: XiNETEENTH ILLINOIS 

i*\ii ill. -iM;iiii they wont, inlo the finhf ; 
Cutting their way on the loft und tho riglit; 
I'nlioi'dinK tho .storm of tho shot and tho sholl, 
I'nho^'tlinK tho fato of thoir (\)niraih>s who foH. 
Onward thoy spod hko tho Horoo lightning's flash; 
Onward thoy s|)od with a tornado's orash; 
Onward thoy sped like tho holts of tho thundor, 
Kosistlossly crushing tho Robol host undor, 
'I'ill, wild in thoir lorror, they scattered and fled — ■ 
Ix»aving heaps u\K)n heaps of their dying and dead! 
And tho shouts that went up with the set of the sun 
'I'old tho charge was triumphant, tho groat battle won. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 13 



INTRODUCTION. 



It is more than half a century since the beginning of the 
Civil War; it is forty-seven years since that war ended with the 
complete restoration of the American Union. After Appo- 
mattox, James Russell Lowell, himself a Federal soldier, wrote: 
"The news is from Heaven. I felt a strange and tender exul- 
tation. I wanted to laugh and I wanted to cry, and ended by 
holding my peace and feeling devoutly thankful. There is 
something magnificent in having a country to love. It is almost 
hke what one feels for a woman. Not so tender, perhaps, but 
to the fuU as self-forgetful." 

Impossible as it may seem, our Country is really a land of 
many wars; for although as a great Nation, we are one of the 
youngest on the Globe, the valleys and the hills, the plains and 
the moimtains we call America, and are our own, are as old as 
the oldest countries of the Ancient World; indeed some parts 
of our vast territory are thick-piled with ruined towns and hab- 
itations which are believed to be of greater antiquity than the 
famed desolations of Greece and Egypt. This Continent has 
probably been a fighting field for more than twenty-five cen- 
turies, and for that length of time man has struggled here to 
defend himself, or to take possession. On this Continent, and 
in long past ages, men by swarms, naked or in the hairy skins 
of animals they brought down with flint-tipped spear or arrow 
roamed in search of their enemies. And no sooner had these 
hordes become tribiil organizations than the struggle for pos- 
session leapt again to the fore and wars were everywhere. Cen- 
turies later, in the dim majestic forest, hoar with time but silent 
now and filled with the brooding pathos of forgotten things, the 
Amaiinds, that is to say, the human beings wrongly called In- 
dians, took and held this Continent. In many a region of our 
now beloved land imcounted warriors once streamed as ruthless 
forces, advancing and retreating, burning and destroying. 
Down many a flowing stream, or on many a pond or lake, their 
war canoes came or went, leaving billows of blood at this bend 



TnK Nineteenth Illinois 

or tlu'^4• simllows of livrr wlicrc, fiKlitin^ liaml In hand, savages 
buttle*! to n'tain or piin. After iniiuinerable wars between 
th«' first inhabitants eame the many wars between Red Men and 
White Men. The AnKlo-Saxon hud arrived, at Jamestown and 
at Plymouth, and he hastenetl to take possession by force of 
arms. A thirst for emjiire came with the new comers, and the 
wars they brounht on continued for more than two hundred 
years. Here, there, and yonder the Hetl Men and the Whites 
fdunht fiercely, the pomp and pride of paint and plumes and 
Im»ws and arrows against the stern rufjKedness of those bearing 
riHes which s|X)ke death. They fougiit for centuries — one for 
increa.sed territory, unboundeil power, and civilization; the other 
for his home and native hunting grounds. 

After that, indeed in the midst thereof, the Revolution oc- 
curreil, and from Lexington and Hunker Hill into the South and 
Middle West ran not only war's alarms, but many a battle 
Ix'tween Anglo-Sa\ons, one side fighting for freedom and in- 
(lependence, the other side to crush and still control. That 
war ende«i, another broke forth within thirty jears or so and 
again between kindred people. Once more our land heard the 
heavy tread of an armed invading force, but the Battle of New 
()rlean.s was the last of the War of 1812, and .since then no 
foreign foe has ventured to set foot upon the .soil of this Republic. 
And ll»>n, less than half a century after our last war with Eng- 
land, the most terrible strife this Continent has ever known, or 
ever will know, (!od willing, .shook the heart and rent the soul 
of the United States of America. Its valleys and hills, its fields 
and wo(mIs, its brooks and mighty rivers swarmed with armed 
in«'n, and the smoke and groans of deadly conflict went up from 
thou.sands of battle grounds. Those warriors were, in the main, 
not only white, but of the same race and Nation. It was officially 
calletl the War of Rebellion, and later, the Civil War; it was 
really a fratricidal war of brother against brother, father against 
Win, friend against friend; the same people of the same Republic, 
and of the .same churches, at each others throats in deadly 
earneslne.ss. The hills and the mountains, the lakes and the 
streams, the towns and the cities, the fields and the meadows, 
iM'held two enormous armies, one in Blue the other in Gray — 
most of their .soldiers .sons of a conuuon ancestry, having the 
name scorn of danger, the .s.-mie heroic determination— in battle 



The Nineteenth Illinois 15 

array, but, alas! one side attempting to destroy, while the other 
side was loyally supporting the National Union. Then men of 
the same race and kin strove and dared, blundered and achieved, 
fought out their utmost reserves of strength, until a quarter of a 
million of them lay in ghastly windrows on the same blood- 
darkened earth where stag and lynx, wolf and bear, brown men 
and red men have torn one another through an immensity of 
centuries. It is with that war and some of its battles, that is to 
say, with a few hundretl of its loyal soldiers who participated in 
it, that we have to do in these pages. 

It has been clearly estimated that in the struggle which be" 
gan in 1861, there were, on both sides, nearly 4,000,000 men and 
boys under arms, and there are not that many soldiers today in all 
the standing armies of combined Europe. If we say there were 
boys as well as men engaged in the Civil War it is because it is 
a fact. Of the total enlistments, aggregating 2,300,000, in 
round numbers, for the Union armies and navies — 1,700,000 is 
the estabhshed estimate of the Confederate enlistments — there 
were no fewer than a million who were under nineteen years of 
age, and there were nearly one hundred thousand under fifteen 
years. There are no reliable records of the losses on the Southern 
side but on the Northern side the number of killed and mortally 
wounded amounted to about 146,000; while the gi-and total of 
deaths resulting from mihtary operations was 395,000. In all 
probabiHty the losses were approximately the same on both 
sides, that is to say, one-foiu-th of the entire armed force in the 
Civil War was destroyed. In other words, nearly 800,000 Hves 
were lost; six hundred thousand men and boys were made 
cripples for hfe; and more than two million mothers, widows, 
sisters, and orphans were made to mourn for the loved ones in 
the war. All told, no less than two thousand two hundred 
combats, one hundred and forty-nine of which were important 
battles, were fought. The loss in property ran into thousands 
of millions of dollars; the actual cost to the Nation was over 
$5,000,000,000; and as has been stated, the sacrifice in life was 
beyond all precedent in modern history. If we count pensions 
and other expenses since 1865, the Civil War has thus far cost 
this Country about 18,525,000,000— a cost almost beyond the 
mind of man to grasp. 

But, on the other hand, look for a moment at what has been 



Thf: Nineteenth Illinois 

brouKht about by reason of all that the Union soldiers and sailors 
nccomplishp<l half a century or so ago. At the beginning of 1861, 
the jiopuiation of the Tnittnl States was no more than ;i2, 000,000, 
iind the National wealth was only about $,S,()(M),0(M),(M)0, or 
$2"»0.(M) jMT capita. Within less than fifty years after the elose 
«if tin- War of Kebellion the p()|)ulati<)n, in round numbers is 
«»2.00(»,0(K). and the Nati(mal wealth has become $117,(M)0,000,- 
(KK), or nearly fifteen times what it was half a century previously, 
while the jmt capita has risen to $1,275.00. It will hardly be 
denied that this unparalleled prosperity became possible wholly 
by reason of the i)atriotism and the sacrifices of those who op- 
IK)seil the arnuMl forces which .sought to destroy this Coimtry in 
the early sixties. 

.\nother thing Tlio.sc who were in the .Vinerican Civil War 
battled for four years and one month; the heroes of the Crimean 
War — French, English, Turks, and Russians — were fighting 
less than one-fourth as long. The duration of our Civil War was 
seven times as great as that of the Franco-Prussian conflict 
which overthrew an Empire, consoUdated Ciermany, and es- 
tablished the French Republic. It was twenty-four times as 
long as the Franco-Austrian war. Moreover, in its influence 
uiKMi national and human destinies, that war of fifty years ago 
is still more cons|)icuous; for it not only made an end of human 
slavery in North .Vmerica, but, as an exhibition of miUtary ca- 
j)acitj- and a revelation of our prodigious possibilities of armed 
resistance, it taught the world the advisability, and indeed the 
absolute necessity, of letting the United States alone, as the one 
unsussailable and defensively irresistible Power on earth. Nor 
wjis the success of the North in the Civil War a triumph in a 
.sectional .'Jen.se, as time has since shown that it was for the in- 
t«'rest of the whole Nation. 

In the ancient world there were several motives for war, and 
the last of them is to be found in slavery. This, too, was in a 
way, the motive of the Civil War. It was because the Southern 
States were determined that slavery should not only continue 
in their midst, but should be spread into adjacent territory, that 
they seceded form the Union. Early in February, ISoO, Heru-y 
Clay i)resente<l in the Senate at \\ashington a series of resolu- 
tions, known ever since as the Clay Compromise, on the slavery 
question in the United States. SiK-aking in favor of his resolu- 



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The Nineteenth Illinois 17 

tions, and in answer to repeated threats to dissolve the American 
Confederation by secession, the venerable Senator from Ken- 
tucky said: "In my opinion, there is no right on the part of 
any one or more of the States to secede from the Union. War 
and dissolution of the Union are identical and inevitable. There 
can be a dissolution only by consent or war, and such a war as 
it would be! We may search the pages of history, and none so 
ferocious, so bloody, so implacable, so exterminating — not even 
the wars of Greece, of England, or of France; none of them all — 
have been characterized by such bloodshed as would the war 
which must succeed, if that event ever happens, the dissolution 
of the Union." 

The debate on these resolutions continued for several months, 
taking a very extensive range. Among those who spoke in their 
support were Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Stephen A. Douglas, 
Cass, Walker, Baldwin, Benton, Seward, and others; opposed to 
them were Calhoun, Davis, Soule, Berrien, Butler, Badger, 
Mason, Hunter, etc. These latter threatened disunion, and it 
was in answer to the fiery speech of John C. Calhoun, read by 
Mr. Mason — the famous Southern Senator was then struggling 
with the disease which soon after terminated in his death — that 
Webster exclaimed: "Secession! Peaceable secession! Sir, 
your eyes and mine are never destined to see that miracle. 
Peaceable secession! A concurrent agreement of all the mem- 
bers of this great republic to separate! What would be the 
result? Where is the line to be drawn? What states are to be 
associated? What is to remain America? What am I to be? 
Where is the Flag to remain? Where is the eagle still to tower, 
or is he to cower, and fall to the ground? Why, sir, our ances- 
tors, our fathers and grandfathers, those of them who still re- 
main amongst us by reason of prolonged life, would reproach us, 
and our children and gi-andchiklren would cry out shame upon 
us, if we of this generation should bring dishonor upon these 
ensigns of the power and harmony of the Union which we see 
around us now with so much joy and gratitude." And later on, 
in answer to the speech of Senator Soule, Mr. Webster said: 
"I shall stand by the Union, and by all who stand by it. I shall 
act for the good of the whole country in all I do. I mean to 
stand upon the Constitution. I need no other platform. I 



18 T\\\: XiN'ETEENTH Il.I.INOIS 

shall know hut our ("ounliy. The onds I aim at shall ho my 
Country's, my (Io<i'.s anti Truth's. ' 

The |>ooplt' of tho South justifict! Ncuro slavery on the plea 
of race inferiority. "With us," said Alexander Stej)hens — af- 
terward Vie«'- President of the Confederaey — "with us, all the 
while raee, however high or low, rich or poor, are equal in the 
law. Not so with the negro; subordination is his place." And 
Stephens, like I(h> many men in the South, maintained that the 
natural anri normal condition of the Negro was slavery. He 
further said, in that same sj)eech: "It is upon this (slavery) 
our social fabric is firmly ])lanted, and I cannot permit myself 
to doubt the ultimate success of the full recognition of this prin- 
i-il)le throughout the civilized and enlightened world." Yet 
within five years, and notwithstanding this remarkable pre- 
diction, slavery was abolished in the United States, and within 
twenty-seven years it was abolished in Brazil, thus marking the 
final disappearance of human slavery as a legalized institution 
among civilized peoples. 

Hut no historian can ever trutlifully assert that we, the men 
who followed the Star S|)angled Banner, our Country's Emblem 
of (lovc'rnment, Dignity, and Power, with such matchless 
courage and heroic sacrifice during the War of Rebellion were 
moveil at first to volunteer only by the determination to re- 
lieve our black fellowmen from bondage. At the outbreak of 
that war we who first resjwnded to President Lincoln's calls 
were inspired to do so by the noblest sentiments of Loyalty 
and Patriotism: and it was not until the terrible strife had gone 
on for many months that the freeing of the slaves was made one 
of the gieat i.ssues of the contest. The jirogress of events 
changeil the statu.s aiilv (/no, and the abolishing of slavery was a 
|<'gitimate and neces.sary result of the arbitrament of the sword. 

As a rule war is considered simply as a manifestation of 
brtite force— an encounter between two armies wherein the one 
that is b«>st armed and is guided by the ablest generals, conquers. 
This wjLs not always true, however, of the War of lS(il-(io. It 
was an encounter betw(>en two divisions— the North and the 
South— of the .same Country; therefore a struggle against Gov- 
ernnu'nt by a rebellious i>art of the American people who claimed 
the right to .se<-ed(> from llie Inion of States to which each State 
had pledge.1 itself. The Civil War was a .struggle not between 



The Nineteenth Illinois 1'.) 

two rival nations but between peoples of the .same Raee and 
Country. On the one sitle was loyalty to the existing Govern- 
ment and the Constitution established by our forefathers; on 
the other side, disloyalty to that Government. Other peoples 
have fought men of their own blood to preserve their liberties, 
or in defense of their religion or to secure their possessions, 
but the political rights of the South were not menaced, its 
religion was unvexed, its hearthstones were not violated. 
Slavery was in danger, however, and the South fought to retain 
it, as "a principal cause of civilization," as one Southern cham- 
pion wrote. Yet on the eve of the Civil War, 350,000 planters 
made up the slaveholding class; that is to say, less than six per 
cent of the white population of the Southern and border States. 
Then came rebelhon, and the great question to be decided was 
whether the Union was one and indissoluble or a compact of 
Sovereign States dissolvable at the pleasure of any of the sig- 
natories. War followed. For more than fifty years the life 
of our Nation had been hanging by a thread. The Civil War 
cut that tliread and the Union of States was bound with cords of 
steel. But it was a very sad war to both armies, as well as to 
the peoples who sustained those forces in the fields for four 
years. 

To bravely let one's self be killed in combat, even for a 
righteous cause, is not at all a pleasant thing to do, yet, as a rule, 
it was done uncomplainingly. Very seldom were there any hand 
to hand conflicts, where men, inflamed by the excitement of 
determined energy and the despeiation of close quarters, were 
carried away in a sort of intoxication under the sway of which 
they found glory in feeling their flesh lacerated and cut by sabres 
and bayonets until they were bathed in blood; still there were 
some such engagements. Nor did our war consist of brief exalta- 
tions between groups of soldiers, but rather in prolonged and fear- 
ful struggles wherein scores on scores of thousancLs were engaged, 
with hundreds of yards usually separating the two forces. How- 
ever, the hardships of that war were not alone in the desperate ten- 
sion of muscle and courage required at the decisive moment in 
battle, although it sometimes happened that a strong effort of will 
was necessary to hold the bravest in the ranks at critical times. 
There were other haixlships, and these consisted in the intermi- 
nable drills, the policing of camps, the building of defensive 



•JO Thk Nineteenth Illinois 

»ork.s, the frequent diseiLses brought on by foul water, the Hniited 
.xupply of fcxxl — even when plentiful, its coiLstant sameness — the 
hard marches, the frequent bivouacs, the lonely picket duty 
under jKHirinR rains or in the coldest weather, the illness borne 
when meiiicines were not at hand, the occasional discouragement 
at f(^'ling one's self no lf)nper master of his own destiny, stripped, 
apparently, of all human worth, and, in a way, deprived of the 
ab.solute and (U)conditional right to live, those endless duties 
were a constant drain upon enduring faithfulness, harder to bear, 
often, than the crashing excitement of battle, while the deadly 
Kuffering of camps and hospital were at times easily worse than 
all. Yet resistance to fatigue and suffering, implicit obedience 
to tho.se in authority, a willingness to die, were the virtues which 
the tr(K)ps most cultivated in those days of war in the early 
sixties. In .short, with a conscious effort of will, while in- 
fluenced by diverse ethical sentiments, we succeeded in becom- 
ing fine soldiers in a short time, principally by contracting 
habits of di.scipline, and by dominating the instinct of self- 
preservation. 

.\nd to no men now in existence except the "old boys" lives 
a joy so profound or so thrilling as the tribute which rang in the 
hearty cheering of the fighting line in battle front, which beamed 
in the thousands on tliousands of faces uplifted in utter faith 
and trust, which .sparkled in tlee|>-.set eyes blazing with devotion, 
when the beloved leader, whose command over Comrade hearts 
was as absolute as over their destinies, rode past. None of us 
who are still spared, whether "Johnny Reb" or "Billy Yank," has 
to .shut his eyes to see our great Commanders of the Civil War. 
But we of the North, when we think of that war, can never 
overlook this inq)ortant fact, that that bitter struggle was not 
won by .soldiers and sailors alone. In our hours of gravest 
perils, in our hours of greatest sufferings, in our time of greatest 
nee<l, in our moments of deepest exultation, and whether by 
day or by night, there was one man more than any other, more 
indeed than ail the others, who carried the heaviest burden, 
the heaviest responsibility, yet w:us never broken, was ever alert 
and doing for the .irmies in the field and for the fleets on the 
seas. 

Mankind will never forget .Vimihaiii. or Mo.ses, or Leonidas. 
or Cincinnatus, of I'ericles, or Paul, or Richelieu, Or Cromwell^ 



The Nineteenth Illinois 21 

or Washington, or Gladstone. Nor will mankind ever forget 
the hero-martyr whom our war added to that grand company 
of Immortals. Lincoln had the faith of Abraham, the leader- 
ship of Moses, the courage of Leonidas, the simplicity of Cin- 
cinnatus, the statesmanship of Pericles, the intellectual force of 
St. Paul, the political sagacity of Richelieu the integrity and the 
patriotism of Washington, and the eloquence of Gladstone. 
Lincoln! How beautiful and good he stands to our mind and 
imagination, a man to whom was given so much of earth, so 
much of heaven! With all the civilized nations of the world 
today there is one lasting memory of the Civil W^ar in America, 
and it is the admiring remembrance of Abraham Lincoln, whom 
our own dear State of Illinois gave to the Union and to the 
whole Country. 

In no sense is this work intended to be a history of the Civil 
War; however, in the main, it is merely pen and ink sketches of 
some of the incidents and of a few of the great battles in which 
a single regiment participated. It is the partial story of the 
doings of the Nineteenth Illinois Infantry, in many ways the 
most famous of the thousands of organizations in that war. 
It is the unvarnished, yet incomplete, record of a group of Union 
soldiers who served their Country in its time of gravest peril; 
and, fully sensible of how much he stands in need of his Comrades, 
and the reader's indulgent good will as they follow him in this 
Memoir, the Editor hopes that what he has recorded may, here 
and there, throw a side light not only on this particular Regiment, 
but on some of the conditions under which Union soldiers lived 
and fought during those stern, fateful years, and give fresh 
emphasis to his purity of motive and his heroic constancy. 
One thing is certain: no where in the book can denunciation of 
"our friends, the enemy" be found. The brave, yet misguided, 
troops of the South bowed to the decree of Almighty God and the 
valor of their opponents long ago. They, like us, are thankful 
that today the sun shines on a reunited Country. Those who 
wore the Gray, hke those who wore the Blue, may not forget 
that the best of our life and work lies behind us. And, O how 
sadly! do we who are still here, present at roll call, so to speak, 
think of those of our Regiment who were killed, or who died of 
wounds or diseases received while in the service. Dulce et 
decorum est pro patria mora. Nameless they may remain on the 



Till". XiNKTKKNTH ll.LIN'OIS 

|HtK(^ «>f History, but thoir nainos, whether written or unwritten, 
will everywhere l>e aeeepted as synonyms of hnivery, eoiislancy, 
loyalty, devotion and sacrifice. 

I'nlikc those who followed the Southern cio.ss of tlie Confed- 
eracy— they wa^ed a wonderful fifjht, those poorly clothed, 
half-slarve<l heroes in (Iray whom we admired as we fought 
them, and who.se courage we shall never forget — there is in our 
hearts no double loyalty jus to our Colors, as to the Flag we fol- 
lowe<l. around which we rallied, which we enshrined in the sacred 
sou! of our love, which we never let fall to the ground in defeat, 
and which we honor and cherish now as something almost holy, 
not merely a.s the emblem of a heroic epoch, or as the embodi- 
ment of memories that will be tender and sweet as long as life 
shall last, but as the .Vmerican Klag. the one which our fore- 
fathers unfurled to the breeze; which Washington established 
in triumph; which Harry Bainbridgc, .Jones, and Decatur, on 
the seas, and Jack.son at Xcw Orleans, upheld in 1812; whicli 
Scott anil Taylor and Wool carried through Mexico; and which, 
after our terrible conflict was borne by Miles and Schafer. 
.Schley and Sampson, in the Spanish War. 

In an old and glorious Coimtry across the Ocean there was 
<mce a brave soldier, La Tour d'Auvergne, known as the First 
(Irenadier of the French Republic. He died in the j-ear 1800, 
but his name is still carried on the muster-roll of his regiment, 
and it will ever be. In May, 1904, an urn containing the heart 
of that .Soldier of France was placed inider the dome of the 
Hotel des Invalides at Paris, where great Napoleon .sleeps; and 
while this was being done the garrison flags saluted, arms were 
presented by five thousand troops, and a Captain of the Forty- 
sixth Regiment of the Line, in accordance with the old formula, 
called out the name, '"La Tour d'Auvergne!" And then, after 
a few moments of solemn silence the answ<>r came in clear and 
ringing tones from a Sergeant : 

"Dead on the Field of Honor." 

Survivors of Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, H, I, and K, of the 
Nineteenth Illinois, call the roll of your companies, and bend 
low over the names which may be followed by "Dead on the 
Field of Honor!" If ever there were heroes in war, then were 
our comrades Heroes. Wli.il li.-irdsliips (hd lliey not endure 



The Nineteenth Illinois 23 

on the march, in the bivouac;, in the trenches, and on the battle- 
field! What sacrifices did they not willingly make for a cause 
dearer than life itself! What danger did they not face with 
unflinching front! Who of us will ever forget them as they, 
and we, followed Turchin, Scott, Raff en; as these, our Colonels, 
followed Stanley and Stoughton, Negley and Johnson, who, in 
turn, led them and us close to Mitchel, Buell, Rosecrans, and 
gi-eate:st of them all, George H. Thomas, the loyal \'irginian, 
the valorous Patriot, the one unwhipped Commanding General 
on both sides of the Civil A\'ar! 

La Colhne, 1912. J. H. H. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

First Blow of the Civil War 27 

First Call for Volunteers 29 

Chicago's Quick Response. 

A Reb and Yank Meet After the War 38 



The Nineteenth Illinois . 27 



CHAPTER I. 

The first blow of the Civil War was struck in January, 
1861. On the ninth of that month an armed force of South 
Carolina fired upon and drove from Charleston harbor the 
steamer Star of the West, which the National Government had 
sent with men and provisions for the relief of Major Robert 
Anderson, who, two weeks before, believing that an attack 
on Fort Moultrie, which he was then occupying, might be 
expected at any moment, and in view also of its untenable 
condition, spiked the cannon, burned the gun-carriages, and 
moved his small force to unfinished Fort Sumter, in the 
same harbor. The State flag of South Carolina was soon 
raised on Fort Moultrie, and because President Buchanan 
would not punish Anderson for this movement, Secretary of 
War Floyd resigned from the Cabinet. 

In the North this firing upon the Star of the West attracted 
very little attention; but the action of Major Anderson and 
the resignation of Floyd were the signal for rebellion in the 
South. Before February several States seceded from the 
Union, and Texas followed on the first of that month. These 
States united as the Southern Confederacy, which raised its 
flag over Montgomery, Alabama, as its National Capital, 
adopted a Constitution, and elected Jefferson Davis, of Mis- 
sissippi, as President. Meanwhile the day of Mr. Lincoln's 
inauguration as President of the United States of North 
America approached, and, on Monday, March 4, 1861, the 
oath of office was administered to a man whom some of us 
who were in the Nineteenth knew as boys at Springfield, Illi- 
nois. In his inaugural speech that day Mr. Lincoln said: 



28 The Nineteenth Illinois 

"I oonsitlcr tluit. in view of the Constitution and the laws, 
the Union is unbroken; and to the extent of my abihty I 
sliall take rare, the Constitution itself expressly enjoins it 
ui)on me. that tlie huvs of the Union be faithfully executed 
in all the States." He added that in carrying out this pur- 
pose there was no need of violence or bloodshed, nor should 
there be any unless it was forced upon the National authoi- 
ity. 

Brigadier Cieneral P. C. T. Beauregard, Louisiana born, 
graduate of the Military Academy at West Point, — he was a 
gallant soldier in the Mexican War — was the man who then 
struck the Union its second blow. He had resigned from the 
Ignited States Army, already held high rank in the Confed- 
eracy, and was commanding South Carolina troops at 
Charleston. To his demand for the evacuation of Fort 
Sumter, Major Robert Anderson — another gallant officer 
in the Mexican War —replied in a patriotic negative; there- 
upon, a little before five o'clock on the morning of Friday, 
April 12, 1861, Beauregard opened fire on Sumter. The 
p«'ople of Charleston hastened to the shore to enjoy the 
shameful spectacle, little suspecting the sad disaster which 
it presaged.* The firing on that fort lasted all day and 
through part of the night. On the thirteenth, when the 
buildings hi Sumter were blazing and Anderson's cannoneers 
could no longer sec to load their guns because of the thick 
smoke, the valorous Conmiander, after a final salute to the 
American Flag, surrendered. In 1865, almost precisely 
four years later, after a prayer by the very Chaplain who four 
years before had prayed on the same spot, General Anderson 

•The FirHl I.cH»on of the Suiuluy — (he third after Easter — which followed the sur- 
ri-nder of Fori Sumter, ciin be found in Joel III: • Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: 
tirppare wnr, wiike the niiKlily men, li-t all men of war tlraw near; let them come up. 
Heal your pluughNhnreH into .swDrds, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak 
nny, I nm Htronx. " 



The Nineteenth Illinois 29 

hoisted upon the flag staff the same Stars and Stripes that 
had been lowered in 1861.* 

Seven States in the South had aheady declared them- 
selves out of the Union; the property of the United States 
had been seized and appropriated; and now that South 
Carolina had actually fired upon the National Flag, four more 
Southern States at once joined the Confederacy, which re- 
moved its capital to Richmond, Virginia. Viewed now 
through the backward slanting light of experience, how 
futile that action seems. A minority of States less densely 
populated than the North and West, with an alien race 
dwelling among them, a race that might be a non-combatant 
burden or a foe within the breastworks; with no arsenal, no 
munitions of war, and not a Corporal's guard for a standing 
army, there seemed no possibility of, scarcely a hope for, 
success against the organized Government which held the 
treasury, the army, and all the resources and facilities of war. 

The news of Fort Sumter soon reached Washington, and 
thence spread out to electrify the North, which, until then, 
had not wished for war, but seemingly desired some sort of a 
compromise. But now the time for compromise was past. 
Now that the South had begun it, a willingness to fight was 
manifested throughout the North and West, and the cry of 
War, not that of Peace, was heard, even though we were 
but little prepared for one. On the fifteenth of April Pres- 
ident Lincoln issued his first call, on all the States, for 75,000 
volunteers for three months, and that appeal was printed 
in the newspapers of the Country that same day. Not a 
single State which had seceded from the Union acknowledged 
his summon, nor did any troops come from the border 

♦Charleston was surrendered back to the Union forces February 18th, and in the 
Protestant Episcopal churches of that "cradle of secession" on the succeeding Sunday 
the clergymen had to face as their First Lesson (Quinquagesiina) the first chapter of 
Lamentations, beginning, "How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! She 
that was great among the Nations, and princess among provinces, how is she 
become tributary." 



30 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Slates. Jiut lioiii llif free States of the North an army of 
men sprang up and of this nunil)er were four Chicago 
companies of infantry which were afterward in the Nine- 
teenth Illinois. One of these (Company D) was the very 
first company raised in that already great city, although 
another (Company E) had, through its then Captain, John 
McArthur, (afterward a Major Cleneral) offered its services, 
in ca.se of war. to the (iovernor of Illinois as early as Jan- 
uary previously. As illustrating the swift and patriotic 
impulses of that memoral)le day the following account of 
how ho happened to volunteer, by a still living member of 
the Regiment, is herewith presented. 

It was a bright sunshiny morning, the fifteenth of April, 
ISlil. Breakfast in a Chicago home on the West Side was 
nearly ended when the heatl of the house, an eminent lawyer, 
who had been reading the President's Proclamation aloud 
from his newsjiaper, spoke to his son and the latter's cousin 
-neither of them yet nineteen years of age — and he said: 

"Well, young gentlmieiK wliat do you think about this 
grave issue".'" 

\\'ith<iut giving any dehnite answei', they rose from the 
table, left the house and started for their respective places 
of employment over on the South Side; and, though it had 
l)een their custom to take a Madison street horse-car, they 
walked the entire distance, saying very little to each other 
on the way. however. Arrived at Clark Street they ^epa- 
rated. one to go to his desk in the County Clerk's office in 
the old Court House, the other to the Judge's chambers, 
where he had some routine things to do before beginning his 
morning study of certain law books. But liardly had the 
latter entered the rooms when he heard the sound of a fife 
and ilrum close by, and with that sound came an echo of the 
(|uestion. "Well, young gentlemen, what do you think aljout 
this gra\'e issue?" 



The Nineteenth Illinois 31 

Immediately there arose several other questions in his 
mind. What was he going to do about the needs of his 
Country's Government? How might he help that good man 
from his own native State, ilow in the Presidential Chair 
at Washington? What was he ready to do for the imperilled 
Nation? Then he saw his own father at Mr. Lincoln's side 
as a Volunteer from Kentucky in the Black Hawk War ; and 
he also saw that father volunteering to help his Country 
in her war with Mexico; and he remembered, too, the old 
cocked hat, the regimentals, and the Continental money at 
home, heirlooms in a family where paternal and maternal 
forebears had fought in the war of Independence against 
King George ! The sound of that fife and drum was mean- 
while ringing loudly in his ears, and the notes seemed like 
the voice of one standing at a threatened post calling, "Help ! 
help!" across the hills and the plains between the Potomac 
and Lake Michigan. 

It was then that that young man, hardly more than a 
boy, saw his duty clearly and he acted promptly. In his 
veins coursed the blood of generations of loyal Americans, 
patriots who had been ready to serve their Country when- 
ever that Country called, ever since the first of his name had 
come to Virginia in 1649. The law books were left untouched, 
and down to the street the young man hastened. The 
fife and drum were just around the corner, in Dearborn 
Street. An empty store had been hastily turned into a re- 
cruiting office; and therein, on a large roll he wrote his name, 
the eighth on a list which soon numbered over a hundred, 
and it was the first Company of Volunteers raised in Chicago 
at the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion. In the 
Chicago Tribune of April 22, 1861, one may read: "At the 
theatre on Saturday evening J. H. McVicker presented to 
Captain Fred Harding' s Company an elegant silk flag 
bearing the motto, 'Retaliation — no mercy to traitors!' 



32 Thk Nineteenth Illinois 

This fulfills the gonorous manager's pledge to the first Com- 
pany filled up and rocoivod." That organization which 
Captain Harding so promjitly raised became Company D 
in the Nineteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry when it was 
mustered in for three years of service, although it (the Com- 
pany) saw field service before that date. As for the other 
"young gentleman."* he, too, em oiled his name that same 
day, in what was then known as" Barker's Dragoons." 
In due course of time his Company became apart of the 
Kight Illinois Cavalry, one of the most famous organiza- 
tions in the Army of the Potomac. After the War, he was 
coinmissionetl as Second Lieutenant, into tlie Regular 
Army;** he served with distinction and marked ability, 
rising througli all the intermediate grades to the rank of 
Brigadier (leneral, and was finally retired as such by reason 
of age limit. 

So it was with thousands of other young men and boys, 
native born for most part, though some were from foreign 
lands, in Illinois that fifteenth day of April, 1861. And it 
was especially so with many of those whose deeds are chron- 
icled in these pages. They were loyal, patriotic, eager to 
do everything possible to support the Government and 
defend the Flag; and it was thus that Companies A, D, E, 
and K, of the Nineteenth originally sprang into existence. 
The other companies in the Regiment were none the less 
faithful in their service of more than three years, and it is 
witii those days oi stern war that this volume deals. Look- 
ing back on them after these fifty years and more, the sur- 
vivors can soberly say that in the vigor of their youth they 
were glad to loyally serve their Country, and now, in their 
old age, they have no regrets whatever for what they then 
did; on the contrary, we aie proud, we feel uphfted in spirit, 

•Hriaudicr Cicn<Tal Louis Honry Uuckcr. 
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The Nineteenth Illinois 33 

we are conscious of our standing in our respective communi- 
ties, and we fully realize now, "in years that bring the 
philosophic mind," all that the Union soldiers and sailors of 
the Civil War accomplished. " 'Tis an old tale and often 
told," but we are impelled to once more tell the story, even 
though, musing on Coinrades gone, we doubly feel ourselves 
alone. 

The true beginnin g of this history i s to insist that in 
those first days of war the officers, non-commissioned and 
privates, were alike energetic, intelligent, companionable 
beings, and our early impressions of army life are far from 
disagreeable. It is true that during the first few weeks and 
months it was seemingly a continuous guard-mount; a never 
ending drill, drill, until we fairly groaned when we heard the 
sharp command, "Fall in for drill!" To some, perhaps to 
many, it appeared that altogether too much energy and 
gray matter was being wasted on the mere ornamental 
parts of the Manual — our wheelings and facings, our holding 
guns in all sorts of positions, our dress parades and frequent 
reviews, our inspections — all these multiple things, either 
as an exercise or as a duty, came to be rather tiresome, to 
some at least, a Ithough there was never any serious complain- 
ing. But skirmishes plentiful soon became our portion, 
and while most of these were so little they hardly counted, 
yet were they of incalculable value when the time came for 
us to show the manner of soldiers the Nineteenth consisted 
of. 

With all this marching and counter-marching, this 
"left, left, left," — hayfoot, strawfoot, now you've got it, 
keep it — this "right shoulder shift," this "to the rear, 
march!" this "unswing knapsacks," this "parade, rest!" this 
"attention," this "present arms," this "dress up on the 
right," this "eyes to the front," this "touch elbows," this 
''front rank forward," this "fix bayonets," this "stack 



34 The Nineteenth Ti.ltnois 

amis." this "take imiskets," this that and tlio other hundred 
details in the Manual, life may have seemed something- of a 
hurden then; hut. later on. when the Repment was in eamp 
at Klizahethtown. and in eamj) at Nashville, with lliousands 
of soldiers from other ref^inuMits looking; on in wondering 
recognition of the Ninet(HMitirs great skill and ability in 
the Manual of Arms and in hatallion exercises, we were 
mon^ than lepaid for all those weary houi-s and days of drill. 
It was indeed a good tiling for us to know, as we did in the 
course of human events, that ours was the best drilled regiment 
in the Army of the Cumbei-land, which is to say, the best in 
all the Northern armies. And meanwhile we were also 
learning a thing or two apart from military evolutions which 
we still remember. We early discovered that army service 
was a great leveller of class distinctions. Where all alike 
had to perform duties — digging trenches, cleaning camp, 
building fortifications, keeping muskets in order, doing 
laborers' work at the Commissary's or at the Quartermas- 
ter's requt^st, pitching tents for officers, calling some chap 
we once knew only as "Pete," or as "Dave," by his rank 
title, scrambling out of bed at an unreasonable hour in the 
morning merely because a hard-hearted Orderly Sergeant 
expected it of us, washing our own shirts and socks — that 
is whenever they haiipened to undergo such a surprising 
jirocess- these and many another "circumstance of war" 
knocked social standing skywards, and woe unto the "dough- 
boy" who failed to find this out early in his life as a soldier. 
Fortunately our Company commanders were not only intel- 
ligent but they were human beings, even though gifted w^ith 
the tlesire to hurl the Manual at us on every possible occa- 
sion. Tradition ran in Ouis that once a Captain of a certain 
Company, finding his manoeuvres had brought his com- 
mand ••u|) against" a rail fence, and not knowing just ho\v 
to overcome that difTieiilty. "according to Upton," gave the 



The Nineteenth Illinois 35 

order to break ranks and to fall in again on the other side of 
the obstacle. The story may have been apochryphal; but 
it certainly was not in the Nineteenth that a Major, literally 
following instructions as printed in the book, sang out to 
his part of the batalion, "Right or left oblique fas the case 
may be), march!" 

It would be impossible to relate in detail in a single 
volume all the history of our Regiment and its campaigns, 
but we may safely refer to the changes in character that 
came with our prolonged experiences. Once we had had our 
first battle the value of life became less regarded. Death 
came to be so common among us that we thought lightly 
of it, if we thought of it at all. There was, of course, a pang 
when this or that Comi*ade was reported killed, or danger- 
ously wounded, but the impression did not last long. What 
difference who went first or who later? although, after a year 
or two of experience in real war, we naturally took care not 
to expose ourselves over-rashly. This carefulness was some- 
times mistaken by the new recruits for timidity, so that 
occasionally something like a contemptuous smile might be 
seen on the face of a "Johnny Fresh" who had hardly yet 
seen a gun, much less fired one at the enemy. Doubtbss, 
too, there were occasions when some few would have been 
glad to be far away from the terrible scenes we were forced 
to witness, but this was rather a fleeting impulse than a deep 
conviction, and amounted to nothing so far as the offender's 
value as "food for gunpowder" was concerned. 

And the more we became finished soldiers the more we 
learned how to disregard the rights of property. Fences, 
barn-doors, clap-boards from out-houses, field-crops, horses 
— all were "jerked," that is to say, taken, not because they 
"interfered with military operations," but because they 
were useful in camp. We were generally hungry, and when 
haversacks were empty why fail to search for "rebel" bacon, 



;;i, Tin; NiNETEP:xTn Illinois 

or foi "secesh" hens! True, these were sometimes paid for, 
hut not when it could he helped, or if the offender was a 
clever soldier. Ikit if it is true that the moral sense of some 
may have thus lieen slightly blunted, there is one thing 
which we can rightfully boast of, and it is, never was there 
a braver or a more courageous lot of men than those in the 
Nineteenth Illinois. We held the virtue of bravery in far 
gn^ater esteem than civilians do; and we respected the 
(|uality of courage as much in the boys in Gray as we did in 
the boys in Blue. And. in due course, we came to know 
that there are three heroic virtues — Bravery, Courage, and 
\alor — to be taken into consideration. 

There is a marked difference in these three virtues. 
Bravery is not a ([uality which may be acquired; we either 
have it at our birth, or we shall never have it. The quality 
of Bravery and Courage are not the same. Courage is a 
quality essential to men of keen feeling, and especially to 
superior or commanding officers, while bravery is more neces- 
sary to the soldioi-. Bravery lies in the blood; Courage in 
the soul. Bravery is a species of instinct; Courage is a 
genuine virtue. The one is largely a mechanical movement, 
the other a noble action. Bravery shows itself at certain 
j)eriods antl in certain circumstances, yet cannot always be 
tlejiended on; Courage is ready at all times and on every 
occasion. Bravery is always thoughtlessly impetuous, and 
it attracts the admiration of on-lookers, or of those who read 
- but the more Courage reflects, the more intrepid it is, 
antl the result more sure. The imj)ulse of example, the blind- 
ness arising from conunon danger, the heat of l)attle, inspire 
Bravery; zeal for the cause at stake, for the State in danger, 
a consciousness of duty, and an honest willingness to count 
the cost, animate and awaken Courage. In short. Bravery 
may be essential in action, but Courage certainly is so 
through the whole i)rogress of a cami)aign. Courage is not 



The Nineteenth Illinois 37 

inaccessible to fear, but overcomes it; Bravery is afraid of 
nothing, yet no man is always brave. It is the union of 
Bravery and Courage which constitutes Valor; and the true 
motives of Valor are, or ought to be, the love of one's whole 
duty, the ever-living desire and the determination to do 
absolutely the right thing in the interest of a cause and of 
one's Country. It was this wonderful combination of 
Bravery and Courage, this ever-living desire and determi- 
nation to always do the right thing at the precise moment, 
in the interest of his cause and his Country which stamps 
George H. Thomas as one of the most valorous soldiers 
that ever lived, either in ancient or modern times. 

In many ways "Knighthood was in Flower" during our 
long war. The late General John B. Gordon, one of the no- 
blest officers that ever carried a sword, although he was a 
Confederate, used to tell a story which confirms our state- 
ment. In October, 1863, after Chickamauga, when Long- 
street's forces were investing the city of Knoxville, Ten- 
nessee, there occurred an incident equally honorable to the 
sentiment and the spirit of "Billy Yank" and "Johnny Reb." 
The Confederates had made a bold assault upon the fort 
and succeeded in reaching it through a galling fire; they at- 
tempted to rush up its sides, but were beaten back by the 
Union boys who held it. Then, in the deep ditch surround- 
ing the fort and its immediate base, the "Johnnies" took 
their position. They could not retreat, except at a great 
sacrifice of life, but they could not get into the fortress. 
The sun poured its withering rays upon them and they were 
famishing with thirst. A bold and self-sacrificing young 
Southern soldier offered to take his life in his hands and 
canteens on his back and attempt to bring water to his 
fainting comrades. He made the dash for life and water, 
and was unhurt; but the return — how was that to be ac- 
complished? Laden with the filled and heavy canteens 



3R TlIK XiNETEENTH Tl.I.TXOIS 

he approacheil within range of the rifles in the fort, then 
looked anxiously across the intervening space. He was 
fully alive to the fact that the chances were all against him; 
but, determined to relieve liis suffering comrades or die in 
the effort, he started on his perilous run for the ditch at the 
foot of tlie fort. The Union soldiers stood upon the parapet 
with their rifles in hand. As they saw this daring American 
youth coming, with his life easily at their disposal, they stood 
silently contemplating him for a few moments. Then, then 
lired at him a tremendous volley — not of deadly bullets fiom 
their guns, but of enthusiastic hurrahs from their throats — 
the comjiliments and congratulations of heroes to a hero; 
the sweet civility of life in time of strife; and if the annals of 
war record any incident between hostile armies which em- 
bodies a more beautiful and touching tribute by the brave 
to the l)rave, we know it not. 

* * * * :(: ■ * 

More than three decades after the close of the strife a 
Northern gentleman, driving with his wife through some 
fertile lands in Central Georgia, stopped his horse at a road- 
side spring, where alreadj' stood a pair of yoked oxen in 
charge of a rugged looking farmer, apparently the other's 
elder by a few months only. An attempt at conversation 
was made by the newcomer, but he was answered rather 
shortly, as though the tiller of the soil did not care to be 
patronized by any one who could go gadding about the coun- 
try in a livery rig. The day was giowing warm, so the 
Northerner threw off his top coat before proceeding on his 
way, thus displaying a little round bit of bronze in the left 
lapel of his driving jacket. The native recognized this 
emblem. 

"I see you was in the wall I"" he exclaimed, as he left the 
cattle to roam at will. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 39 

"Yes, iiideedy," answered the first, cheerfully. "Were 
you in it too?" 

"Yep!" ("Whoa there, you denied ole fools!"— this to 
his oxen.) "Git through it all right?" 

"Not much. I was pretty nearly done for in the Battle 
of Resaca — through the side, close to the heart, you know." 

"Well, well! Resaca! Why, that's where I got it in 
the shoulder." The two men began to regard each other 
more kindly. My lady in the buggy was already reaching 
for her traveling bag. Her husband jumped out of the 
vehicle; they approached each other. 

"Your regiment was — " 

"The Forty-third Georgia; an' your'n?" 

"Nineteenth Illinois. Do you mind my taking you by 
the hand, Sir?" 

"Just what I was agoin' to ask you, Sir. I'm right 
proud to meet you again, Sir," — this with a broad smile 
on his honest face. 

"Not one bit more than I am to meet you again. Sir. 
Funny, isn't it — our regiments fighting each other to kill 
and destroy in that big fight of long ago, and now here we 
are shaking hands, like lost friends, on a Georgia roadside." 

The lady in the buggy leaned forward: "As the Gov- 
ernor of North Carolina said to the Governor of South 
Carolina!" she gently remarked, handing over a flask. 
The veterans carried it to the spring and there they drank, 
"To those who fell!" and as they "smiled" they both thought 
of the rattle of musketry and the roar of cannon; of the 
plump of solid shot burying itself in solid earth, or in loud 
compact against a tree; of the shrieking, whistling shells 
"bursting in air;" of sharp, sudden gasps, followed by suf- 
fering gioans; of the agonizing neighing of hit horses; of 
enthusiastic lines dashing across the field, one side all 
cheers, the other all quiet; of the shouts of officers, the shine 



10 The Nineteenth Illinois 

of bayonets, and then, for themselves — oblivion. Once more 
the two strangers shook hands. 

After supper that evening the Georgia farmer said to his 
wife: "Ma. that Yank I met 'safternoon, up yonder by the 
big sjiring. is the one who tried to kill me at Reseca." She 
looked at him in a peculiar way. "Well, well! I s'pose 
we'll have to give the body decent burial some time ter- 
niorrer." He i-eached over, grabbed her by the arm, and 
pulled her ilown upon his lap. She kissed his sun-tanned 
and wrinkled face, then she said: 

"Ain't you ole fellers ever goin' to stop bein' foolish boys 
when you hai)])en to meet somebotly thet was in yo' ole wah?" 



CHAPTER II. 

PAGE 

Recruiting 43 

President's Call for Volunteers 44 

Illinois' Qu-ick Response. 

The First Companies Under Arms in Response 

TO Call— Expedition to Cairo, III 45 

Roster of First Companies Under Arms for the 

Union in the United States 47 

Off for Cairo 54 

Reunion at Chicago After Fifty Years 58 



The Nineteenth Illinois 43 



CHAPTER II. 

Fifty-one years ago! It seems almost like a dream to 
those of us still living who responded to President Lincoln's 
first call for volunteers to protect the Government, maintain 
the laws, and preserve the Union. Aye, very like a dream, 
the quickly-opened recruiting rooms; the assemblages of 
determined men ready to do all in their power for the threat- 
ened Nation; the acceptance of companies and then the part- 
ing with mothers who once held us in their arms while giving us 
of their souls and bodies that we might increase in size and 
strength; the hearty hand-clasps of fathers with dimmed 
eyes saying, "So long, son: take care of yourself;" the kisses 
and tears, tears and kisses, as the enthusiasm of Loyalty 
and Patriotism wielded the actions of thousands on thousands 
all over the North, helpfully standing by ''Old Abe" in his 
time of great need ; some stopping for a few moments to em- 
brace weeping wives as well as mothers, weeping sweethearts 
as well as sisters; and to some came the saddest parting of 
all, that of leaving the new born babe, the first born, which 
might never be seen again. 

But it is far from being a dream; it was stern reality. 
We did hasten from home and loved ones to where shells 
and cannister, bullets and bayonets, miasmatic waters and 
lack of proper food, the innumerable diseases of camp life 
as well as the multiple dangers of grim war, were to be our 
portion for months and years to come ; yet do those who are 
still here proudly say that they are glad to have been Union 
soldiers and defenders of the Country in its period of grave 
peril. And we cannot but be forever grateful because, 



44 'I'm: Nineteenth Illinois 

while \vf lay in liospitals of pain, or strode along on weary 
marches, or as we stood guard in wild storms, or as we strug- 
gled with the enemy in many a deadly combat, or waited, 
wounded on battlefields, for comrades bearing stretchers to 
i)ring us to those dear creatures, the army Nurses, who al- 
ways cared for us so tenderly and patiently, because, back 
at home, up in a land we ever spoke of as "God's Country," 
tlien^ were women and men, sisters and brothers, fnends 
and fellow citizens, thinking of us, believing in us, glorify- 
ing us while we were in ravines running with blood, in fur- 
rows of old fields where, amidst the ripening grain, the foe 
awaited our approach, cjuite willing to maim us, tear us, 
destroy us if possible. And as those at home were thinking 
of, weeping over, and praying for the loved husband, the 
adored son, the admired brother, the trusted sweetheart, 
many of these — oh, so many! — were sleeping under the pines 
and hemlocks, the oaks and tangled bushes, or in the swamps 
of creeks and rivers, their service ended, their precious 
young lives given to the Union they had solemnly sworn to 
defend, but i)()werloss now to do more for "Father Abraham" 
and the Nation he so nobly stood for in those days of half 
a century and more ago. 

On the fifteenth of April. 1861, Mr. Lincoln's Proclama- 
tion was made known to all the world. ''Whereas, The laws 
of the United States have been and are opposed in several 
States by combinations too powerful to be suppressed in the 
ordinary way. 1 therefore call for the ]\Iilitia of the several 
States of the Union, to the aggregate number of 75,000," 
and so on. Having received this official paper, on that 
date Richard Yates, Governor of Illinois, convened the 
legislature of our State in session of General Assembly to 
enact such laws and adopt such measures as might be deemed 
neces.^ary under the circumstances; and on that same day he, 
a.« Commander-in-Ghief of the Illinois Militia, issued Gen- 



The Nineteenth Illinois 45 

eral Orders No. 1, ordering the commandants of the several 
divisions, brigades, regiments, and independent companies 
of the State, "in view of the present dangers menacing the 
Government," to hold themselves in readiness for actual 
service. A circular from the Secretary of War, of the same 
date, assigned the quota of Illinois as 4,683 officers and men; 
within a week more than the State's full quota, plus some 
seven thousand volunteers, was in camp at Springfield, and 
meanwhile quite a number of those who afterward filled the 
ranks of the Nineteenth were on our way to the front, willing 
and determined to deserve the confidence placed in us by 
President and Governor. 

The nineteenth of April, Secretary of War Cameron 
wired Governor Yates: "As soon as enough of your troops 
is mustered into service, send a Brigadier General, with 
four regiments, to or near Cairo." Thereupon his Excel- 
lency wired to Brigadier General R. K. Swift* at Chicago: 
"As quick as possible have as strong a force as you can 
raise, armed and equipped with ammunition and accoutre- 
ments, and a company of artillery, ready to march at a 
moment's warning." Forty-eight hours after this dispatch 
was delivered we were on our way to Cairo, over three 
hundred miles distant from Chicago. That Sunday evening, 
the twenty-first of April, 1861, General Swift's force of 595 
men and four six-pounder pieces of artillery, consisted of 
Company A, Chicago Zouaves, Captain James R. Hayden 
commanding; Company B, Chicago Zouaves, Captain John 
H. Clybourne commanding; Chicago Light Infantry Com- 
pany, Captain Frederick Harding commanding; Turner 

*General R. K. Swift was elected, then commissioned Brigadier General of the 
Illinois State Militia by Govenor W. H. Bissell in March, 1857. He aided Ellsworth 
and Scott in organizing the famous company of Zouaves, and its successful trip 
through the Eastern cities was planned in his residence. He was one of Chicago's 
early and respected settlers; he died at his home in Lawrence County, Missouri, 
September 28, 1883, in the seventieth year of his age. 



4() TiiK Nineteenth Illinois 

I'liioii Cadets,* Captain Custav Kowald coinmandiiig; 
Lint'olii Rifles, Captain Geza Alihalotzy commanding; 
Cliicago Liglit Artillery. Captain James Smith commanding. 
Of these organizations, three- those of Captains Harding, 
Harden and Clyhourne — became companies in the Nine- 
teenth Illinois; while a fourth company, the Highland Guard, 
ready at the same date — indeed it had offered its services, 
in case of need, to the Governor three months previously — 
was, after two or three days delay in Chicago doing guard 
duty at the Armory, was ordered to Springfield, and after- 
ward mustered in as Company E of our Regiment. It not 
only looms large in the history of the Nineteenth, but its 
Captain, Alexander W. Rafl'en, became Lieutenant Colonel 
of ours, and held that command in many an important 
action. 

The necessity of an early occupation of Cairo, Illinois, 
caimot be overestimated. The town itself was hardly moie 
than a forlorn little settlement at the extreme south end of 
the State, but the military importance of its position is seen 
at a glance. The safTron watercourse of the Mississippi 
River, once the Western boundary of the United States, 
became, after the Louisiana purchase, the common highway 
for both North and South. As for its tributary, the Ohio 
River, loiigest owned and longest settled by our English 
speaking race, it flowed for nearly a thousand miles as the 
boundary in chief between slave and free States, and was 
studded on either bank with tlniving tow'ns and cities en- 
gaged in friendly trade. The confluence of these tw^o great 
streams made ( "airo, therefore, a point of prime consequence 
to the Union cause. Just across these rivers lay Kentucky 
on the South, ami Missouri on the West, and both were then 

•Thi» cotiipuny uflcrwiird Ijecimif the nucleus of Company G, Twentv-fourth Illi- 
iiyit Infuntry; while the l.inclon Uiflcs was also swallowed up in that regiment, and its 
rnplnin (.i-(:i .Mihnlotzy, rose to the rank of Colonel. The 24th and the 19th were 
• lotely allied in war, and their niendjers have been warm friends ever since. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



47 



controlled by disloyal men. By taking possession of Cairo 
the Government was enabled to prevent a traffic with the 
rebellious States in contraband property; and as three of 
our companies were in that expedition the time has arrived 
to give their Rosters, as follows: 



CHICAGO ZOUAVES— COMPANY A. 

Commissioned Officers — Captain, James R. Hayden; 
First Lieutenant, James V. Guthrie; Second Lieutenant, 
Clifton T. WTiarton; Third Lieutenant, John C. Long.* 

Non-Commissioned Officers — Sergeants: Thomas M. 
Beatty, William A. Calhoun, William B. Curtis, William 
Sackett, and William D. Hawley; Corporals — Charles L. 
Ranney, Lewis H. Martin, William Quinton, Thomas R. 
Marker, and Isaac Bard; Musician, John Reilley. 



Privates. 



Aldrich, Clarence 
Ambrose, Mortimer 
Bangs, Lester G. 
Berg, George 
Bristol, William H. 
Brownell, William E. 
Biisse, Frederick 
Cherry, John G. 
Cole, Theodore 
Danks, Albert W. 
Denmead, Henry 
Dietrich, Hemy 
Doggett, William A. 
Dustin, Emory P. 
Edgell, Joseph H. 
ElUs, George C. 
Fergus, John Q. 
Filkins, Edward A. 



Fitch, George W. 
Fitch, Samuel H. 
Fritz, Frederick R. 
Gaffney, James 
Garvin, James L. 
Geggie, John 
Granger, Andrew II. 
Guenther, George 
Hageman, Jacob 
Hahn, David A. 
Harrison, DeWitt C. 
Hart, Samuel S. 
Harvey, Clarence A. 
Hedges, James 
Holmes, Derello L. 
Justice, William 
Kecble, Berwick B. 
Kennedy, Michael C. 



*The rank and offico of third lieutenant was soon done away with. 



48 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



Company A. Vhivatks— Continued. 



Knowlton, William S. 
Iah\ Timothy 
I^ipprrt, Kiinrnc W. 
l-ipprri, I'aul H. 
I><x)nus, Clement A. 
Munn, Charles 
Martin, S. Wesley 
MeAllister, Edward 
MeCormick, William 
McDonald, KjTen 
McKarlane, (ieorge 
McKninht, Charles A. 
Morse, Albert 
Myers, .Samuel H. 
Padflock, James O. 
Pfeifer, Nicholas 
Phillips, George R. 
Powley, John R. 
Price, William H. 
Randall, Ceorge B. 
Rhodes, Aimer A. 



Sabin, Luther M. 
Smith, Lewis E. 
Stewart, James 
Stickney, Alonzo S. 
Stout, Robert 
Sylvester, Roscoe G. 
Townsend, Albert T. 
Trueman, George S. 
Turley, Theophilus C. 
Uttman, James T. 
A'reeland, John 
A\ainwright, Henry S. 
\\ allace, Edwin E. 
\\;ud, John R. 
Wheeler, Charles L 
Wheeler, Edward G. 
W'ildey, William H. 
\\'ilson, Stephen 
\\'ilson, William 
Winslow, Zebedee R. 



CHICAGO ZOUAVES— COMPANY B. 

Commissioned Officers — Captain, John H. Clybourne; 
First Lieutenant, Presley N. Guthrie; Second Lieutenant, 
Charles H. Shepley. 

Non-Commissioned Officers — Sergeants: Cornelius V. 
Lamberson, George Eckart, G. A. Busse, and Edson W. 
Dorsey; Corporals: I. S. Johnson, George D. Leonard, S, H. 
Seadin, and R. L. Ambrose. 



Phivatks. 



Hngby, James R. 
Harker, Henry N. 
Rates, Henry W. 
Hell. G.-i.rg.- H. 



Benshcl, Andrew 
Hockee, Abraham 
Howie, G. H. 
Cami)bell, (Jeorge 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



49 



Company B, Privates — Continued. 



Carney, Michael 
Clark, M. M. 
Cobb, Joseph 
Cunningham, Wm. R. 
Dopt, John D. 
Ferrers, Charles 
Ferrers, George 
Fitzgibbons, Wm. 
Fletcher, Horace B. 
Ford, Seth L. 
Friedman, I. \V. 
Griffin, Daniel W. 
Gunter, Charles S. 
Guntz, Emil 
Ham, William 
Haven, E. P. 
Hay ley, Thomas C. 
Heller, Albert 
Hettich, Charles 
Higginson, H. C. 
Hoffman, F. J. 
Howell, James W. 
Jacobus, Joseph R. 
Johnston, Thomas 
Jones, Isaac 
Kent, C. A. 
Khng, D. C. 
Knapp, Cyrus F. 
Kurtcherval, A. W. 
Larg, Emanuel 
Lees, Charles W. 
Linder, I^ F. 



Matthei, George C. 
McConnell, I. D. 
McDonnell, P. 
Mendle, Benjamin 
Metz, Lewis 
Miller, George H. 
Miller, Michael L. 
Newhouse, John 
Newton, John B. 
Overacker, Charles E. 
Ozier, William C. 
Pfium, Isaac 
Potter, W. E. 
Russell, Frank J. 
Schwarz, Henry 
Scott, John 
Shaffer, Cliristian 
Shepard, Frank 
Shoeneman, Samuel 
Shoenewald, F. 
Slagle, Joseph L. 
Smith, James H. 
Snow, O. N. 
Stephens, John 
Stoughton, Henry D. 
Talbot, John 
Tyler, Richard B. 
Tyler, William N. 
Voice, I. E. 
W^agner, George C. 
Walters, John M. 



CHICAGO LIGHT INFANTRY. 

Commissioned Officers — Captain, Frederick Harding; 
First Lieutenant, Charles A. Colby; Second Lieutenant, 
Edward H. Brown. 



Tin; NiNKi KHXTH Ii.lixois 



\(iN-( nMMissioNED OFFICERS — Sergcaiits: August 
MaiilV. .lames H. Ftiulkiier, ]\Iortimcr ('. Wisonor, and 
.lames Adiiaii: Corporals: Samuel W. Lyno, William 15. 
(lallahcr. Pclcr M.( "unningham and David A. Cunningham; 
Mii-icians: Alexander Hischof, and I-'dward Kessler. 



I'lUVATKS 



Acton, .lanu's l{. 
Adams, Henry K 
Aiken, Alexander 
Allen, W illiain 11. 
Anderson, Heiuy 
Barnes, John \V. 
liuitazier, l>o\vis 
Hillings, Kdward I,, 
liird, Cieorge A. 
liorden, Lewis 
lirooinfield, James 
Hutler. William 
( 'arter, Henry K. 
Christian. William 11. 
Clark, Jo.M'ph 1). 
Clark, Lyman 
Clark, Thoma.s 
Cl.ark, Thoma.s N. 
("onlay, Thomas 
Davis. NLirtin K. 
Depner, William 
Depner, .\L Connard 
lOames, Kmerson (). 
i:arles. Charles W. 
l^arnest, Hamilton 
lOnderson, Abram 
Ferris, Charles 
Flannigan, John T. 
Flory, .\ndrew .1. 
C.a<ldis, Clark 
<iallalier, .\L'irtin 
(iavil, (ieorge M. 



CifTord, Je.s.seS. 
Ciille.spie, John ^L 
(iowen, Henry 
(Jravos, Xausine 
(Irimm, Robert S. 
Ciroonis, Thomas C. 
Gross, Nicholas S. 
Hanley, Thomas 
Hanman, Mather 
Hannis, Thomas W. 
Haynie, James Henry 
Hoffman, John 
liiidson, Joseph 
Humphrie, James A. 
Hutchinson, Angus 
Johnston, P>ank E. 
Jones, Charles 
Jones, Harrison 
Jordan, Andrew 
Kelsey, Bryant 
Locke, Benjamin 
Longley, Hiram 
^Ldlin, .John 
Maloney, John 
Massej', Hugh 
Mauff, Edward 
Mauff, Frederick 
McCracken, Robert 
McClinnis, John 
McLane, James 
McLaughlin, Robert M. 
Moses, (^harles 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



51 



Pkivates— CoiitiiiiU",). 



Pease, Ira A. 
Phelps, Albert 
Pollard, William S. 
Quay, Anderson D. 
Riff, Nicholas 
Schaeffer, Jacob 
Sheppard, John W. 
Shire, Jeremiah 
Himmons, Hiram D. 
Smith, Aaron 
Smith, Ami 
Smith, John 
Smith, John H. 



Smith, John N. 
Somerville, William 
Sperren, Nicholas 
Sperry James C. 
Sprague, Nathaniel 
Stanley, Edward 
Streeter, Horatio M. 
Taylor, William B. 
Wagner, Edward B. 
Willard, Thomas 
Witter, Lewis 
Zenney, Arthur M. 



CHICAGO HIGHLAND GUARDS— COMPANY E 
OF THE NINETEENTH ILL. INF. VOL. 

WHEN CALLED 

'^'^^'^' INTO SERVICE. 



Raffen, Alexander W., Captain . . . 

Gabriel, John, 1st Lieutenant 

Bremner, David F., 2nd Lieutenant. 

Young, John, 1st Sergeant 

Raffen, James W., 2nd Sergeant. . . . 

Steel, George, 3rd Sergeant 

Baird, Andrew, 4th Sergeant 

Campbell, David, 1st Corporal 

Blythe, Thomas, 2nd Corporal 

Cowan, John J., 3rd Corporal. .... 
Chalmers, Andrew, 4th Corporal . . . . 
Sherman, Nathaniel, Musician 



April 15, 1861 



Privates. 



WHEN CALLED 
INTO SERVICE. 



WHEN CALLED 
INTO SERVICE, 



Amos, William April 15, 

At wood, Amos C " 

Bai'ton, Charles S " 



1861 Baxter, Wilham. . . 
" Beddeker, Bernartl. 
" Bell, William 



April 15, 1861 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Chkagu IlKiiiLAND (JiAUDs — Conlimu'd. 



NAME. 

Hjirram, John 

HuKnc'l, Henry O 
Hams, Charles H 
Coiiloii, Michaol. 
Christian, .Janios. 
Chichi, Charles. 
Chapm.'in, Jas. G. 
Canii)bell, James 
Cunningham, Eclwd. . 

Coleman, John 

Cappre, Charles . 

Decker, W. S 

Davidson, WiUiam.. . 

Dick, Thomas 

Dempsey, Michael.. 

Downs, Charles 

Drummond, James. . 
Evans, John A. . 

Kdmondson, Burt 

Farrell, Thomsus. 
Fuller, Weston C . 
Fraser, Alex. McLeod 
Flagu, Charles.. .. 
( !(H)rne, William.. 

( Jordon. Edward 

Cray, William. 
Criffilh, Watson. 
Clrove, William II 
(J rove, Augustus. 
Halin, James. 
Hart, James 

IIoojHT, Joseph 

Iluntiiigloii. Jo.seph C 
Higniiis, Charles. . 
Haiinixmaii, Henry 
Harrison, Waller 



WHEN CALLED 
INTO SERVICE. 



WHEN CALLED 
INTO SERVICE. 



April 1.5, 1861 Hamilton, James April 15, 1861 

Hcaly, Thomas '' " 

Irons, Andrew 

Johnson, James B 

King, Thomas 

Kcllcy, Martin " " 

Kelley, Patrick 

Lombard, Horace " " 

McDonough, M " " 

McArthur, David " " 

McLean, John 

McNeil, George " " 

McCormick, James " 

McLaughlin, John " " 

McLaiiglilin, James " " 

McKay, John " " 

McNider, Robert " " 

Murphy, William H " 

Miller, Andrew.. . ." " " 

Xoble, John G. P " " 

Xarramere, Chauncy ... 

O'Brien, Daniel " " 

O'Mariah, .John " ." 

Phillip.s, ,J(,hn " " 

Porter, Hemy " 

Riddle, Walter 

Reed, Smith 

Reiter, Alfred... 

Robison, Nelson G " 

Rutherford, David " 

Revnolds, Joim H 

Simp.son, William " " 

Sylvester, Gushing " "■ 

SjH-ar, Isaac S 

Slieilds. John " '' 

Sliarj). .\iidrcw " " 



The Nineteenth Illinois 53 
Chicago Highland Guards — Continued. 

WHEN CALLED WHEN CALLED 

^^^^- INTO SERVICE. ^^^^- INTO SERVICE. 

Skipsey, Joseph April 15, 1861 White, James M April 15, 1861 

Tomlin, John ....;.. . " " Wood, George A " " 

Van Balengoyon, Henry " " Westf all, George " " 

Walton, Richard " " Wignall, Thomas " " 

Watson, John F " " Welsh, Thomas C 



While Ellsworth's famous United States Zouave Cadets 
Company was still in existence, and soon after the Presi- 
dential campaign of 1860, a company of "Wide-Awakes" — 
semi-military bodies of young and old Republicans — wishing 
to continue its organization, took for its title Company B, 
Chicago Zouaves, with *'Jim" Hayden for its Captain. He 
had been First Sergeant of the original Ellsworth Zouaves 
Company — the one that out-drilled every other military 
company in theUnited States, and of which our own gallant 
'Moe" Scott was First Lieutenant — and he was second only 
to the more famous Captain Ellsworth as drillmaster. The 
first call for volunteers found Hayden almost prepared for 
war. The ranks were soon filled, and, as Company A, 
Chicago Zouaves, he "boys" were ready to march wherever 
ordered. Meanwhile the Chicago Light Infantry, Captain 
Harding commanding, had also filled its ranks; the same is 
true of Company B, Chicago Zouaves; and when matching 
orders came on that Sunday of the twenty-first of April, 
these three companies — with the artillery and the two 
other Infantry companies already mentioned — after listening 
to a short addi ess from General Swift, proceeded to the main 
station of the Illinois Central Railroad, at the end of Lake 
street. That march will never be forgotten by the 
survivors of those who participated in it. It seemed as though 
the whole of Chicago had assembled along Lake Street to 
see us off to the war. In spite, however, of the energetic 



54 The Nineteenth Ii.linois 

efforts of the citizens these companies left Chicago in rather 
l)oor >hape for active service. We all wore our usual cloth- 
ing, the only attempt at uniformity being that we had a red 
blanket rolled up and passed over the left shoulder with the 
ends tied by a string under the right arm. The artillery was 
loaded upon platform cars, ready for almost immediate use; 
the "soldiers" found seats in regular day coaches. 

It was about eleven o'clock in the evening when the train 
pulled out amidst loud cheering by the thousands who had 
remained to see us off. We arrived at Centralia shortly 
after one o'clock the next day, where substantial refresh- 
ments were served, and where Captain Harding picked up a 
man who had been a soldiei in the Regular Army for several 
years, llis name was Peter Cunningham, and he was gladly 
accepted into the Chicago Light Infantry Company, wherein 
he became a Lieutenant in after da3's. At Centralia Cleneral 
Swift was infoi-mcd by one of the officials of the railway that 
threats were being made to destroy the bridge across Big 
Muddy Creek, and he took his precautions accordingly. 
When, at about five o'clock that afternoon, we reached 
"Big Muddy" no armed force was visible, but Hayden's 
(•()mj)any was detailed to guard the bridge. This detail 
without tents for two days and nights, were compelled to 
make their (juarters in the forest as best they could. The 
rest of the expedition moved on to Cairo, arriving there 
about eleven p. m., the 22d. That town was found to be in 
a state of considerable excitement, but glad to have the pro- 
tection of Union troops. The artillery was unloaded and 
(juickly ])lan(etl on the levee, so as to sweep both rivers; 
the infantry were (juartered in some cattle sheds which hap- 
pened to b(> ('m|)ty. and then those future heroes lay down in 
lowly repose. Things werc^ somewhat chaotic for awhile. 
There were no tents or cooking vessels, and for a few days 
we were subsisted at the best hotel in the i)lace. But that 



The Nineteenth Illinois 55 

luxury was soon changed to something hke regular soldier's 
fare; and, to make us feel warlike and bold, our company 
officers inaugurated at once a military process known as 
drilling — a habit persisted in, so to speak, until we were 
mustered out in the Summer of 1864. 

About ten o'clock on the forenoon after our arrival in 
Cairo General Swift was advised that a force of some five 
hundred men was being raised at Carbondale, which threat- 
ened to tear up the railroad track in order to cut his com- 
munication with Hayden' s company at Big Muddy. On 
receipt of this information he detached Captain Clybourne's 
company, and Lieutenant Willard of the Chicago Light 
Artillery, with one cannon, to go to the bridge and reinforce 
our comrades there. This move had the desired effect and 
nothing more was heard of the Carbondale Confederates. 
On the evening of the twenty-fourth, two days after our reach- 
ing Cairo, General Swift was relieved of his command by Col- 
onel Benjamin M. Prentiss, by order of the Governor of 
Illinois, and ordered to report to headquarters at Spring- 
field at once. He immediately complied with this command, 
and we passed under the control and guidance of another 
chieftain. 

Those of us in Cairo were having a fairly good time, but 
the others at Big Muddy seem to have been enjoying very 
disagreaeble experiences. They soon rejoined us, however, 
although not in time to assist at the capture of a steamboat 
with contraband goods on board, and for which seizure the 
Government owes us to this day. The third or fourth day 
after our arrival the steamer Hillman, a first-class passenger 
and freight boat on the Mississippi, came up from Memphis 
on her way to St. Louis, and as she neared Cairo her steam 
calliope played lively airs. All was excitement in camp and 
town, for it was rumored that she was loaded down with 
rebel troops and munitions of war. A blank shot from one 



56 TnK Nineteenth Illinois 

( f tlio liattci y ^uns failed to bring her to, whereupon a solid 
shot was sent across her bow and it had the desired effect 
A parley was held with the Captain, and soon his steamer 
was n)j)cd to the wharf. An examination was made, but no 
troops were discovered. However, a number of muskets, 
revolvers and other contraband stores were found, and 
the.-^e were distributed among our troops. If we mistake 
not. there was another steamer stopped and captured, while 
we were at Cairo. 

Our stay there continued during ten days only, but dur- 
ing that short while we became acquainted with an officer on 
Cieneral Swift's staff who was afterwards to become our 
Colonel, Josejih R. Scott, of beloved memory. We also 
found one "Billy" Nevans with the (Jeneral's band. He 
afterwards became the Drum Major of the Nineteenth, and, 
with F'ife Major Moore, often gave new life to our flagging 
steps on many a weary march. By and by the two compa- 
nies at Big Muddy came into cam]), and then we were put 
through batalion drill in fine style. On the second of May 
the three Chicago companies were ordered to Springfield, 
Illinois, where we arrived on the fourth, and were quartered 
in the fairgrounds at Camp Yates. Here we found the 
Highland (iuards. from whom we were never afterward 
separated. The four companies remained at Springfield a 
month, during which time two of themrecieved new Zouave 
uniforms, furnished by the generous citizens of Chicago; 
and when the boys had donned them, they made a grand 
street parade through the capital, to the great enjoyment of 
the Springfieldians. It was said while we were in Camp 
Yates that some of the boys went out one night to a pasture, 
carefully selected beforehand, to kill a calf, wishing to have 
fresh meat in their rations. Imagine their surprise the next 
morning when tliry discovered thev had killed a mule! 



The Nineteenth Illinois 57 

On the fifth of June we were suddenly ordered to Chicago. 
Our departure from Springfield was a hurried one, owing to 
the death of Senator Stephen A. Douglas — he was very ill 
at the Tremont House when we were given a dinner in that 
famous hostelry before starting on the Cairo Expedition — 
which had just occurred, and the general desire that we 
should return in time to take part in the funeral obsequies. 
In less than an hour no vestige of our camp remained; the 
battalion of four companies — the Highland Guards were 
already with us — marched to the train, boarded the cars, 
and reached Chicago the next morning. Informed that the 
funeral procession was awaiting us, we dashed from the 
station on the double quick for Wabash Avenue, where the 
line was formed, with our four companies on the right. 
We then started on what has ever been considered by those 
who participated in it, as one of the most exhausting marches 
we ever endured. Leaving Springfield the previous evening 
without supper, having had no time to get breakfast that 
morning, we marched under a very warm sun, the whole dis- 
tance to the burial place, where the Douglas monument now 
is, nearly four miles, in slow time and at reversed arms, 
our only relief being to change arms from one side to the other 
and, on arriving at the grave, had to stand at parade rest 
during the long and tedious ceremony. Oh! what a relief 
what it was to hear the order, ''Attention! Stack Arms! 
Break ranks, March!" Then, for the first time, did we have 
an opportunity of exchanging greetings with such of our 
friends as had not feared to undertake the journey, and seek 
the refreshment of which we stood so much in need, and 
which had thoughtfully been provided in the shape of sand- 
wiches and cofTee. After resting for some time, we again 
''fell in," and marched directly West a few blocks to some 
vacant ground just South of the University, where we or- 
ganized "Camp Long," in honor of Lieutenant Long's father, 



58 Tm: Xineteentm Illinois 

aiul afterward known as Camp Douglas. And hero the 
story of those of the Nineteenth who shared in the hurried 
rush from Chicago the twenty-first of April, 1861, ends. 

Twenty-six years after our leaving for the front the 
survivors of that expedition held a Reunion in Chicago. 
Speeches were made, and letters were read from several 
persons unabh^ to be present. One of the most interesting 
of these was written by the Military Secretary to General 
Swift, Lieutenant William Hemstreet, formerly of Chicago, 
but now living in Brooklyn. Among other things he wrote, 
under date of April (). 1887: ''A (|uarter of a century ago 
tliis very hour, I was in the deadly whirl of Shiloh, and what 
more fit time to answer your kind invitation to attend the 
twenty-sixth anniversary of our start for Cairo. . . 
The scene as we moved down Michigan Avenue, to the sountl 
of discordant whistles, the cheers, the ringing bells and the 
salvos of a'tillery. will never be forgotten. The North 
was aroused and the Co\'eriiment at Washington encouraged. 
( 'hicago of all the Northwest had struck first, and the moral 
and material influence of that prompt, manly, patriotic act 
reflected superlative credit on the State of Illinois before the 
whole country, for Cairo was known to be a salient reaching 
out into hostile territory, and its preoccupation by the 
enem\- would, perhaps, have turned Kentucky and Mis- 
souri, and cost untold blood and treasure to retrieve. . . 
As w(> i)assed down the State we found the people everywhere 
expecting and waiting for us with patriotic demonstrations. 
Solitary woodsmen and ploughmen ran to the side of the 
passing train and shouted their blessing; the whole State 
was aroused Vt Big Muddy the engineers re- 
fused to cross, fearing that the timbers of the bridge had been 
sawed, and that bush-whackers were in the underbrush. 
Don't you remember that the (ieneral, with bare head, in 
his shirt sleeves, suspenders o\-er his hips, and double-bar- 



The Nineteenth Illinois 59 

relied shotgun in his hands, crossed the bridge ahead of his 
staff? Arriving at Cairo, we were not an hour too early. 
The Mayor of the city boarded the train, and told us there 
was a scheme by mischief makers to open the levees and flood 
the town. By daylight we had our patrols, the artillery 
was posted, and the great Mississippi and the Ohio were 
blockaded. . . . Many amusing incidents might be 
recalled of those days of proud and useful glory. On the 
first day in Cairo General Swift received hora some citizens 
a keg of brandy. To be safe he ordered the StafT Surgeon to 
analyze it, and we all went into the hotel and 'analyzed' it. 
The General placed the Quartermaster and myself, armed 
to the teeth, on guard, to the wonderment of the multitude, 
over a mysterious brass-bound box which we supposed was 
the money chest of the expedition; but, after tiresome hours 
of vigil and watch, it proved to be a gunsmith's kit of tools!" 
On Friday, April 21, 1911, just fifty years from the time 
when we started for "Egypt,'' to protect Illinois against 
Confederate invasion, another Reunion of the survivors of 
that expedition was held in Memorial Hall, at Chicago. 
At that meeting Comrade Albert Heller, a member of Cap- 
tain Clybourne's company of Zouaves, met an old friend he 
had not seen since the war. Speaking of his experiences at 
the front afterward, he said: "For about one year I was a 
bugler, and I used to go along the lines ready to sound the 
calls. At the battle of Davis Crossroads, in Georgia, I was 
standing by the Captian when a shell screeched past, a few 
feet at one side. The concussion knocked me down and 1 
heard some one say, 'There goes our bugler.' I called back, 
'Well, hardly,' and got up again." Our good friend Comrade 
Adolph George, of the Twenty-fourth Illinois, Comrade 
James GafTney, of Hayden's Zouave Company, Comrade 
John Q. Fergus, of the same company, and Comrade "Billy" 
Christian, of Harding's company, were among those 



60 The Nineteenth Illinois 

of the "survivors" who spoke. Gaflfney, leferring to the 
experiences at Big Miuldy, said: "We were on the look- 
out for rebels all night. Every time a calf or a pig made a 
noise somewhere, there were shots fired, and the Corporal of 
of the (luard was kept l)usy. We were in a fine fix, for it 
rained a week, and all the protection we had from it was half 
a blanket and a fence corner apiece." Fergus declares it 
rained for nine days, and that he was the first man in the 
company assigned to guard duty. "We couldn't do much 
cooking. Nobody knew how; so we had food sent down 
from Chicago." Christian — he is postmaster of Stephen- 
ville, Texas, — told the boys of a romance in which he played 
the leading role. "After the war I came back to Chicago. 
About six years after the Cairo trip I went to General Swift's 
house. There I met his daughter. Prudence E. Swift, and 
within a year from that time she became Mrs. W. H. Chris- 
tian. She is down in Texas now." 

The President of the Cairo Survivors' Association, Lieu- 
tenant John Young, of Company E, told of his being almost 
fatally wounded on the second day of the battle of Chick- 
amauga — this casualty will be fully dealt witli in our account 
of that memorable engagement — and Lieutenant Lester G. 
Bangs, formerly of Hayden's Zouave Company, and Young 
exchanged recollections of the battle of Missionary Ridge. 
At that time Bangs was Adjutant of the Nineteenth, and we 
were all very fond of him. Comrade Young said: "Bangs 
and I left camp at about the same time, I going by Fort 
Wood to see where our firing was doing the best work, and 
he straight toward the Regiment. As I returned to our lines 
I saw him stretched out on the ground, his face staring to 
the sky overhead. 'Are you badly hurt, Bangs?' I asked. 
He nodded his head, but didn't speak; his teeth were gritted 
sohartl that he ])robably couldn't have done so if he had tried 
to. 1 found tliat his right knee had been shattered." At 



The Nineteenth Illinois 61 

this point Comrade Bangs interrupted. ''Was it you, Jack, 
that sent Doc. Little to care for me? I had just crossed the 
valley before coming to the ridge when I was struck, and down 
I went. I hadn't been there very long before I realized that 
the doctor had come to take care of me. He didn't wait 
until the battle was all over. He went right into the thick 
of the fight to attend to the boys who had been wounded. 
George ! How that knee of mine did hurt ! But I was placed 
in a good position well back, under some trees, where I had 
a fine view of the battle and my comrades driving the Con- 
federates. I lost my leg as the result of that shot, so that 
was all of the war for me." 

A little more than a month afterward the Chicago His- 
torical Society gave a Grand Reunion commemorative of 
the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Civil War, at 
which the survivors of the various Chicago organizations 
responding to Mr. Lincoln's first call for troops were the 
guests of honor. The Nineteenth was ably represented on 
this memorable occasion. Captain Bremner and Lieutenant 
Young being among the speakers. The Editor of these 
pages was invited to be present, but he was compelled to 
decline, and in his letter of regret he said: 'Tt would indeed 
be a glorious privilege to attend the meeting of my surviving 
comrades of the war which the Chicago Historical Society 
is giving, and wherein so many of her illustrious citizens will 
no doubt take part. But just now my health is not good and 
I dare not venture so far away from home. However, next 
Monday evening I shall be with you in spirit, if not in body, 
and in the meantime I shall ask the God on whom our martyr 
President staunchly relied, and whom he ever trusted, to 
bless, not only those who are with you on this occasion but, 
the city of Chicago, from whence I went to the war, to which 
I returned after the war, and where I resided several years, 
until called to journalistic work in New York City; and I 



62 The Nineteenth Illinois 

shall also ask Him to bless the dear State of Illinois, wherein 
I was born nearly seventy years ago." 

Soinotinio in Juno, 1911, the sender of those regrets re- 
ceived a letter from ('ai)tain Israel P. Rumsey, of the Chicago 
Historical Society — his brother was one of the boys who 
helped to train cannon on the steamer Hillman — and at 
the head of a very large business concern in that city, in which 
he said: 

"My dear Comrade: — I have the honor of receiving a 
copy of your verj' enthusiastic letter, and the Secretary of 
the Society has requested me to acknowledge your historical 
remembrances. I wish I could do the subject justice, but 
it is impossible; for there is no one who can give expression 
to the sentiments aroused by your report of your early en- 
listment, our connection with the first troops going to Cairo 
and with the great historical Nineteenth, long commanded 
by the noble soldier, (leneral John B. Turchin. This all 
comes fresh to me as my brother, John W. Rumsey, was in 
Battery A, which left with General Swift's command on that 
notable Sunday after Fort Sumter was fired upon and in 
which were so many of our Chicago boys. A little later, in 
April. I helped organize Taylor's Battery B; and, on June 
'^, 1801, it followed you and Battery A to Cairo. Later 
Batteries A antl B were together in Sherman's Fifteenth 
Corps for the three years of real war. Now regarding the 
interesting recei)tion. The Chicago Historical Society's 
rooms are full of histoi'ic trophies and histories, although some 
of its greatest treasures were destroyed in the great confla- 
gration of 1S71, including the colors of the Nineteenth 
given after the battle of Stone River, together with the Flags 
of Batteries A and B, given them after the battle of Fort 
Donelson; but the rooms are still filled with relics either 
|)r(\<('nte(l or loaned by old soldiers. There were fully five 
I'uiidicd present ; the auditorium was filled. Judge Thomas 



The Nineteenth Illinois 63 

Dent, the President, opened the evening's entertainment, 
then introduced General Walter C. Newberry, Vice-Presi- 
dent of the Society. Enclosed I hand you a copy of the 
program and can only say that each organization thereon 
mentioned was well represented. The music was particu- 
larly fine. We went home near midilight, feeling that we 
had had most refreshing remembrances of our days of the 
Civil War, and especially of our enlistment, offering our- 
selves to our Country for its preservation, and for which 
so many gave their lives to protect its Honor and its Flag. 

"Yours very truly, 

"Israel P. Rumsey." 




Gen. R. K. Swift, Commander Cairo Expedition 



CHAPTER III. 

PAGE 

Organization of the 19th Illinois Vol. Infantry. . 67 

Col. Joseph R. Scott 67 

Col. John Basil Turchin 69 

Lieut. Col. Alexander Raffen 70 

Major Frederick Harding 70 



The Nineteenth Illinois 67 



CHAPTER III. 

An act of the Legislature of the State of IlKnois passed 
May 2, 1861, provided that one organization might be 
raised out of the volunteer companies then at Springfield as 
the Regiment from the State at Large, while other regiments 
were to come from each of the nine Congressional Districts 
of the State. Seven regiments of infantry, Illinois' quota 
under Mr. Lincoln's first call, had already gone to the front; 
and as, in honor of the regiments which were in the Mexican 
War, the numbering of those battalions began with the 
Seventh and ended with the Twelfth, these new regiments 
ran from the Thirteenth to the Twenty-second, inclusive. 
Thus it came about that such distinguished Illinois soldiers as 
Major General John M. Palmer, Colonel of the Fourteenth 
(it was in this regiment that the founders of the Grand Army 
of the Republic, Doctor Benjaixdn F. Stephenson and Rev- 
erend William J. Rutledge, served, the former as Surgeon, the 
latter as Chaplain), and Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant 
Colonel of the Twenty-first (it must ever be a pleasing 
thought with the men who composed that organization to 
remember that the man who first led them in defense of the 
Country's Flag became the most illustrious Captain of the 
age and generation in which he lived), entered the Union 
service. 

That Regiment from the State at Large, consisting then 
of only four companies, commanded by Colonel Joseph R. 
Scott, was mustered into service May 4, 1861, at Camp 
Yates. Ordered to Chicago on the third of June, these 
four became the nucleus of an organization which, after 



68 The Nineteenth Tijjnois 

having been filled iij) to its (juota, was, on the seventeenth 
of June, mustered into the United States service for three 
years as the Nineteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. This 
date of muster shows that Ours was not of the number of 
the regiments organized under the act of April 25, 18()1, yet 
it embracetl four original companies which tendered their 
services to the State and Country and were accepted far 
earlier than many other companies that belonged to the six 
original regiments from Illinois. We have given the Cairo 
history of three of these companies; the fourth was the Chi- 
cago Highland Cluards, dating its organization back to 1855; 
it contained repi'esentatives of the Thistle, Rose, and Sham- 
rock, mingled with native Americans, and it at once took an 
honorable position in the ranks of the citizens soldiery of 
Chicago. So well was it drilled it was able to make a very 
creditable showing in a competition at the United States 
Fair held in Chicago, against the Ellsworth Zouave Cadets, 
just returned from a triumphant tour of the United States. 
One of the judges who complimented the Highland Guard 
on that occasion was Cleneral I.oyd Tilgham, afterward a 
Confederate officer who surrendered to the Union forces at 
Fort Henry, where the Captain of the company he had thus 
praised (John ]\IcArthur) commanded a brigade in the 
\ictori()Us ai-my. No wonder, then, that AIcArthur's com- 
pany should have been ready to offer its services as it did, 
to the (lovernor of Illinois as early as January, 1861, at the 
time of the "Star of the West" affair. If not accepted then 
it was when Sumter fell, and the first call for volunteers 
startled the Nation. Oidered to remain in its armory, 
ready to move at a moment's notice, the company, now a 
part of Washington Independent Regiment No. 1, left for 
Springfield on April 23d, and the Cairo companies found it 
in Camp Yates when we reached that city. Previous to 
leaving Chicago an election of officers of the Highland 



The Nineteenth Illinois 69 

Guard was held. Captain McArthur having been chosen 
Lieutenant Colonel of the Independent Regiment, Alexander 
W. Raffen was elected Captain, John Gabriel, First Lieu- 
tenant, and David F. Bremner, Second Lieutenant. When 
the Highland Guard was mustered in as Company E of the 
Nineteenth a new election was held. Captain Raffen was 
re-elected, but Gabriel not caring to remain in the service, 
Bremner was promoted to be First Lieutenant, and Ser- 
geant John Young was chosen as Second Lieutenant. Al- 
ready there had been quite a change in the roster of this 
company, several of its original members having been trans- 
ferred into other regiments as officers; yet it is a singular 
fact that of all those who tendered their services in January, 
1861, not one was killed, although nearly every one of them 
was engaged in most of the great battles of the war, from 
Bull Run to the end of the Rebellion. 

The Roster of the Regiment, when organized at Camp 
Long and sworn into service for three years, was as follows : 

Field and Staff — Colonel, John B. Turchin; Lieutenant 
Colonel, Joseph R. Scott; Major, Frederick Harding; Ad- 
jutant, Chauncey Miller; Quartermaster, Robert W. Weth- 
erell; Surgeon, Samuel C. Blake (resigned in a few months, 
and succeeded by Dr. Roswell G. Bogue); First Assistant 
Surgeon, Preston H. Bailhache; Chaplain, Rev. Augustus 
H. Con ant. 

Line Officers — Company A: Captain, James R. Hay- 
den; First Lieutenant, Clifton T. Wharton; Second Lieu- 
tenant, John C. Long. Company B (Elmira Rifles, 
Stark County): Captain, Charles A. Stuart; First Lieu- 
tenant, Stephen M. Hill; Second Lieutenant, Alexander 
Murchison, Jr. Company C: Captain, James V. Guthrie; 
First Lieutenant, William Innis; Second Lieutenant, Leavens 
J. Keeler. Company D: Captain, Charles A. Colby; First 
Lieutenant, James R. Faulkner; Second Lieutenant, D. E. 



70 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Cunningham. Conipanj' E (Chicago Highland Guards): 
Captain. Alexander W. Raffen; First Lieutenant, David F. 
Breniner; Second Lieutenant, John Young. Company F 
(Cass County CJuards): Captain, Luther L. Allard; First 
Lieutenant. Knowlton H. Chandler; Second Lieutenant, 
Thomas Job. Company G: Captain, Charles D. C. Wil- 
liams; First Lieutenant, Lyman Bridges; Second Lieutenant, 
Charles H. Roland. Company H (Moline Rifles): Cap- 
tain, Peachy A. CJarriott; First Lieutenant, DeWitt C. Mar- 
shall; Second Lieutenant, Alvah jMansur. Company I 
(Anti-Beauregards, Galena) : Captain, Bushrod B. Howard ; 
First Lieutenant, Thaddeus G. Drum; Second Lieutenant, 
John R. ^Lidison. Company K: Captain, John H. Cly- 
bourne; First Lieutenant, Presley N. Guthrie; Second Lieu- 
tenant, Charles H. Shepley. 

To complete the record, we are impelled to add some 
further information concerning these, our first officers. 
Lieutenant Colonel Scott was promoted to the Colonelcj^ 
August 7, 1862, vice Turchin, made a Brigadier General. 
Colonel "Joe" remained in command of the Regiment until 
he was wounded in the battle of Stone River, January 2, 
1863; he died from the effects thereof the eighth of July fol- 
lowing. We shall have more to say of his death and funeral 
later on. Three months and two weeks after Scott was put 
at the head of the Nineteenth, Captain Raffen was pro- 
moted to l)e Lieutenant Colonel (ever after the death of 
the gallant and beloved Scott the Regiment was without a 
Colonel), and he held the rank until we were mustered out 
in July. 1<S()4. ]\Ia.ior Harding resigned from the service 
September 6, 1862, whereui)on, on that same date, Captain 
James V. (Juthrie was promoted to that rank and office, and 
held it till we wore inustered out. Adjutant Miller resigned 



The Nineteenth Illinois 71 

July 12, 1862, and Sergeant Major Lester G. Bangs was pro- 
moted to that rank and office August 23, of that same year, 
and later discharged on account of wounds received at 
the Battle of Missionary Ridge. 

Regimental Quartermaster Wetherell held that rank 
until in August, 1864, when he was promoted by the Presi- 
dent to be Captain and Assistant Quartermaster United 
States Volunteers.* First Assistant Surgeon Bailhache, of 
Springfield, resigned when promoted to be Surgeon of the 
Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry, and Doctor Charles F. Little, 
of Kewanee, was appointed to the vacancy, holding the 
office until we were mustered out. The twenty-second of 
May, 1863, the Regiment was allowed a Second Assistant 
Surgeon in the person of Doctor Gilbert W. Southwick, who 
resigned five months afterward. Chaplain Conant remained 
with us until his death, deeply regretted, in Februarv, 
1863. 

The Captain (Hay den) and First Lieutenant (Wharton) 
of Company A held their same rank and office until finally 
mustered out, although the former was on detailed service 
which entitled him to much higher rank. Second Lieuten- 
ant Long w^as transfeired to the United States Army August 
6, 1861, and Sergeant William B. Curtis was promoted to 
the vacancy. He resigned August 17, 1862, and was com- 
missioned Captain and Assistant Adjutant General on the 
staff of Brigadier General Turchin. His tragic death will 
be described hereafter. At his resignation Sergeant Thomas 
M. Beatty was promoted to Second Lieutenant of Company 
A, and was finally mustered out with that rank. 

♦After the regiment's muster out, Captain Wetherell appointed Comrade James 
Shinkle of Company A his Chief Clerk, and Comrade J. Henry Haynie of Company D 
his second Clerk, and they were with him when he was helping to s apply Sherman's 
army on the advance to Atlanta, Georgia. The latter left him at that city to become 
Chief Clerk with Captain Charles Deane, another Assistant Quartermaster United States 
\'olunteers, with whom he remained at the front until in 1866, when Deane was mustered 
out, and he returned to his home at Peoria, Illinois. He was accompanied to that city 
by Comrade Haynie and "Nick" Phiefer, formerly of Company A, and who had been 
the Captain's Wagon Master while at Chattanooga and elsewhere. 



72 TnK Nineteenth Illinois 

III CoiHiKiDv B c'liaiigos were immeroiis. Captain Stuart, 
a fiallaiit officer, resigned July 15, 1862, whereupon 
First Lieutenant Murchison — he had sueoeeded Hill, resigned 
Xoveniher 29, ISOl — was commissioned Captain, and held 
tiiat oflice until finally discharged. Second Lieutenant 
Jackson (jwomoted from Sergeant) succeeded to this va- 
cancy, and thereupon Sergeant John H. Hunter became Sec- 
ond Lieutenant. When Captain ''Jim" Guthrie was pro- 
moted to the Majority September 6, 1862, Lieutenant Iness 
was made Cai)tain of Company C, while Sergeant Washing- 
ton L. Wood, although he had been discharged July 31, 1862, 
on account of disal)ility, was commissioned to fill the vacancy 
thus created. The twenty-first of November, 1862, Second 
Lieutenant Keeler, of Company C, resigned for promotion 
to Assistant Surgeon Sixth Kentucky Cavalry, and Ser- 
geant Edward A. Filkens succeeded to the vacancy. He 
resigned February 20, 1863, and Sergeant Cjrrus E. Keith 
was commissioned to the rank and office of Second Lieu- 
tenant of Company C. First Sergeant William Quinton of 
this company was promoted to be Second Lieutenant of 
another company in the Regiment the nineteenth of De- 
cember, 1862. Apropos of Company C's Sergeants, Com- 
lade Iia J. Chase rose to the high and honorable position of 
(lovernor of Indiana after the war. 

Captain ''Charley" Colby of Company D resigned Feb- 
ruary 9, 1863, and First Lieutenant William A. Calhoun 
was promoted to the vacancy, holding it until the Regiment 
was mustered out. Besides Faulkner, who resigned early 
in the war, the First Lieutenants of Company D were — 
Samuel S. Boone faj^pointed from civil life Octol)er 31, 
1861), resigned February 1, 18(53; Calhoun, promoted; Peter 
Cunningham,* ic^signed June 20. 1863; and Oliver E. Eames. 

*IU- was the cx-rcnular whom HardinK discovered at Centralia, Illinois, April 22, 
1 HOI: he was proriiolcd from I'irsl Sergeant to First Lieutenant when Calhoun beeanio 
Captain. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 73 

The Second Lieutenants were : Cliauncey Millei-, promoted 
to be Adjutant August 10, 1861; David A. Cunningham, re- 
signed November 5, 1861 ; WilUam A. Calhoun, brought into 
the Company from Company A. and Henry E. Carter, who 
was mustered in with that rank March 2, 1863, but resigned 
about seven months later. 

When Captain Raff en, of Company E, was promoted to 
Lieutenant Colonel, First Lieutenant Bremner was advanced 
in rank, and he commanded the company, as Captain, until 
the Regiment's final muster out. Second Lieutenant 
Young was promoted to the vacancy thus created, and First 
Sergeant James W. Raffen was advanced to Second Lieu- 
tenant. Both officers last named were holding these re- 
spective ranks at the time of our mustering out. Captain 
Allard, of Company F, resigned December 1, 1861, and First 
Lieutenant Chandler was promoted to the vacancy (he was 
killed in the battle of Stone River). Chandler was suc- 
ceeded by First lieutenant James G. Campbell (promoted 
from Sergeant to be Second Lieutenant), and he w^as in com- 
mand of the Company, as Captain, to the end of our service. 
At the time of the vacancies in this company brought about 
by the resignation of Allard, a new man, Samuel L. Hamilton, 
came into the Regiment as Second Lieutenant of Company 
F, and on Campbell's advancement to the Captaincy he 
was promoted to be First Lieutenant. The other Second 
Lieutenants were: Thomas L. Job, accidentally killed at 
Hannibal, Missouri, July 18, 1861 ; Campbell, already named; 
John Hill, promoted from Sergeant and resigned June 3, 
1863, and Silas W. Kent (a Private, promoted to be Ser- 
geant, and commissioned to succeed Hill), who resigned 
January 2, 1864. 

While Company G remained in the Regiment the changes 
in its officers were but few. The first of January, 1862, 
Captain Williams was transferred to the Artillery, and First 



74 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Licutt'naiit l^ridges was promoted to the vacancy thus 
l)r()Ught al)oiit. This resulted in the advancement of Second 
Lieutenant "Billy" Bishop (he had succeeded Charles 
Roland, transferred), who was killed in the battle of Chicka- 
mauga. Company H seems to have had no other Ca])tain 
than CJarriott, who was discharged February 3, 1864. Its 
First Lieutenants were: Marshall, already mentioned, and 
who resigned December 1, 1861; Mansur, resigned July 22, 
1863; Volney C. Johnson, resigned October 25, 1863; and 
John Dedrick, who took rank from the date of Johnson's 
departure and was mustered out as such July 9, 1864. The 
Second Lieutenants were: ]\Iansm-, promoted; Wellington 
Wood (promoted from Sergeant), who died from wounds 
in January, 1863: and Johnson, promoted. 

Born in the beautiful manufacturing town of ]\Ioline, 
Illinois, in September, 1839, a graduate of the High School 
of that place, Wood had began the study of law when the war 
broke out. He at once volunteered into the Moline Rifles, 
was appointed First Sergeant, and, with his company, 
became a part of the Nineteenth at the time of our muster in, 
June 17, 1861. The first of December of that year he was 
commissioned as Second Lieutenant of H Company. He 
was a splendid marksman with both pistol and rifle, and for 
shooting on the wing seldom met his equal, although once 
Captain "Charley" Colby beat him at revolver work on 
one of our marches. At the battle of Stone River, while a 
few feet ahead of his company, waving his sword and cheer- 
ing, a bullet struck him just to the right of his belt clasp, 
passed through it, and lodged in his body, knocking him 
down and sending his blade flying. After he fell, his flrst 
words were: "Hand me my sword." Placing him hurriedly 
behind two trees, his comrades went rushing on to assist 
in tlie caplure of a rebel l)attery, and when they returned 
to that sj)ot they found he had rocrossed the river, although 



The Nineteenth Illinois 75 

how he ever managed to get over no one knew. He was 
convejTd to the field hospital and while lying there beside 
Colonel Scott the Surgeon came and examined the latter, 
saying, ''You're all right;" then turning to Wood, he added, 
"I wish I could say as much for you." Poor Wood passed 
away on the following Sunday, endeared to every member 
not only of his gallant company, but to all in the Nineteenth, 
for he was an officer of merit and a gentleman. The body 
was taken to his late home, was buried in Moline Cemetery 
with military honors, and on the monument which marks 
his earthly resting place one may read: "He died for his 
Country." 

There were no fewer than four Captains of Company I, 
as follows: Bushrod B. Howard, who was killed September 
17, 1861, in a railroad accident of which we shall have more 
to say hereafter; Charles H. Shepley, promoted from First 
Lieutenant of Company K October 18, 1861, and who also 
met his death by accident, March 23, 1862, as will be shown 
further along; John R. Madison, who resigned December 

19, 1862, and James Longhorn, who was in command of 
the company when we were mustered out. The First Lieu- 
tenants of Company I were: Drum, who resigned October 

20, 1861; Madison, promoted; Longhorn, promoted, and 
William Quinton. The Second Lieutenants were: Madi- 
son, twice promoted; Quinton, promoted; Dickerson B. 
Morehouse, promoted from Fourth Sergeant, a soldier who 
was never absent from his company from start to finish 
although ordered to the hospital twice, and was still with it 
when we were finally mustered out. 

Company K had but one Captain, and he "Pres" 
Guthrie, First Lieutenant of the Zouave Company B of the 
Cairo Expedition. Its First Lieutenants were: Shepley, 
promoted to be Captain of I Company, and Cornelius V. 
Lamberson, who held that rank and office when the Reg- 



70 Tin: Ninktekniii Ii.i.ixois 

iment oiulcd its clays of service. He had been promoted 
from Second JJcutenant October 20, 1861, The Serg;\ant 
Major, \'. liradford liell, was j)romoted to fill this vacancy. 

THE MEN IN THE RANKS. 

Having thus accounted for Field, Staff, and Line Officers, 
we come to those who were in the ranks of the Nineteenth 
from first to last. At the time of our muster in for three 
years — June 17, 1861, — we had 911 men, divided up as fol- 
lows: Company A, 94; Company B, 100; Company C, 96; 
Company D, 101; Company E, 83; Company F, 73; Com- 
pany Ci, 78; Company H, 96; Company I, 91; Company K, 
99 — total. 911. Of recruits we gathered in 234 in three 
years, making a giand total of 1,145. Ouly 333, or a little 
moie than one-third, returned to Chicago to be mustered 
out July 9, 1864. It must be noted, however that earl}' in 
January, 1863, Company G, comprising then 69 men, be- 
came an artillery company, and that, when we started home 
153 of our recruits, with cjuite a numl)er of thos". who re-en- 
listed as A'eterans, were transfcired to other organizations. 
Thus it happened that the Nineteenth was represented in 
the (Irand Review at Washington, concerning which unpar- 
alleled spectacle we shall have more to sa}' before this woik 
is completed. The rosters of all the Non-Commissioned 
Officers and Privates of the Regiment during the entire 
term of service follows. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 
NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF. 



77 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



REMARKS. 



Sergeants Ma,ior. 
Bangs, Lester G. Chicago 
Bell, V. Bradfortl 
Curtis, William B. 
McDowell, Saml. H. '• 
Sackett, William '' 

Q. M. Sergeants. 
Downs, Hylor A. " 

Haverty, Robt. E. " 

CoMMis. Sergeants. 
Bush, Hiram " 

White, Lyman A. " 

Hospital Stewards. 
Matteson, H. C. " 

Pashley, John H. 

Spaulding, D. L. " 
Principal Musicians. 

Moore, James H. " 

Nevins, William " 

Sherman, Nathan " 



June 17, 1861 



Nov. 18, 1861 
June 17, 1861 



Prom. Adjt. Aug. 22, '62 
Prom, to 2d Lt. in Co. K 
Prom, to 2d Lt. in Co. A 
Turned over for transfer 
Transferred to Co. A 



June 21, 1861 Turned over for transfer 

June 17, 1861 Reduced, trans, to Co. A 

" Must, out Aug. 9, 1864 

" Transferred to Co. G 



July 11, 1861 
June 17, 1861 



Turned over for transfer 
Dis. for prom, to Ass't 

Surg. 51st IlUnois 
Dis. Nov. 24, 1862 



" Dis. Jan. 12, 1863 

June 13, 1862 Tm-ned over for transfer 
June 17, 1861 Dis. May 8, 1863 



Sergeants. 
Beatty, Thomas 
Calhoun, Wm. A. 
Curtis, W^m. B. 
Ranney, Chas. I>. 
Sackett, Wm. 

Corporals. 
Bishop, Cieo. W. 



Chicago 



COMPANY A. 



Jvme 17, 1861 



Prom, to 2d Lieut. 
Prom, to 2d Lt. in Co. D 
Prom, to 2d Lieut. 
Reduced 
Reduced 



Prom. Sergt. and to 2d 
Lt. in Co. (i 



78 



Tm: Nineteenth Illinois 

Company A— Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



Corporals. 
Clfoncwcrck. D. C. Chicago 

( die. riicodorc 
Dank.s .Mbcrt W. 
Hark.T, Tlio.s. U. 

riiilli|)s. C.-o. H. 
Vail, Nichola."* 

WiUl. V. Win. 11. 



PmVATE.s. 

.\inbros(', David Iv 

Anilirosc. M(»iiiin(T 

Anderson, Henry 
Bangs. Lester (I. 
Herg. (Jeorge 
Hloomfield, James 
HrisK.l, Win. 11. 
Burton, Wrn. ('. 
Cherry. .John 1*. 

( 'lay, John P. 
Denrnead, Henry 
Dietrich. Henry 
Du.stin. K. V. 
i:dg<ll. John II. 
Kllis, (;r<.ine (". 

l-'ergiis, John t^. 
l''ineh, William 



June 17, IStJl 



Killed at Chiekamauga 

Sept. 20, 18(53 
Reduced 

Disch. Jan. 1, 1863 
Dis. Dec. 4, 1862, on a > 

count of wounds 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Di.sch. Apr. 21, 1864, for 

jHomotion. 
Prom. Sergt. ilet ached 

as 1st Lt. U. S. C. T. 

Aug. 17, 1863 

Disch. Sept. 20, 1862, 

di.sability 
Disch. Feb. G, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Prom. Sergt. Maj. 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Deserted Sept. 15, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Died April 30, 1863, of an 

accicUmt 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Trans. lo.")8thlll. Inf. 
Must. o>it July 9, 1864 
Di.sch. Sept. 21, 1863, 

disability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 




Capt. David F. Bremner, Co. E. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company A — Continued. 



79 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Privates. 
Fitch, Geo. W. Chicago 

Flagg, Chas. T. " 

Gaffney, James " 
Gassette, N. T. 

Geggie, John " 
Goodrich, H. P. 

Graives, Anth. " 

Hagman, Jacob " 

Hanley, Thos. 

Harvie, Clar. A. 

Hedges, James " 
Hills, Robert B. 

Hohn, David F. 

Holmes, Devillo L. " 

Johnston, Henry " 

Keebles, Burr B. " 

Kennedy, Michael " 

Lane, Charles " 

Latting, Wm. W. " 

Lee, Timothy '' 

McElhose, James " 
McFarland, Geo. M. " 



June 17, 1861 Disch. Sept. 13, 1863, for 
promotion 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

" Must, out July 9, 1864 

Deserted Sept. 15, 1862 
Deserted July 20, 1861 
" Discharged Feb. 26, 1863 

" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt. 
" Died at Huntsville, Ala., 

July 21, 1862, wounds 
" Trans. Sig. Corps Aug. 

23, 1862, as Corp. 
Deserted Feb. 9, 1863 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt. 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Killed at Stone River 

Jan. 2, 1863 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
" Died at Murfreesboro, 

Jan. 22, 1863 
" Trans, to Inv. Cor. Sept. 

30, 1863 
" Killed at Richland Creek, 

Tenn., Aug. 27, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
" Died at Elizabethtown 

Nov. 5, 1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864, 
trans, to Co. C June 17, 
1861 
" Died at Nashville, June 

25, 1863 



80 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company A — Continued. 



NAME AND HANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



PuiVATKS. 

Mc-Intyrt', John 

McLean, J:lnu•^^ 

Mann, Charles (,'. 
Massey, Hugh 
MHcalf, Frcl W. 

Mnlvcy, Chris. A. 
Myers, Samuel H. 
Pea.se, Ira A. 

Phiefer, Nicholas 
Powers, Pierce 
Powley, John K. 
Reiter, Albert 
Kirhardson, J. W. 

Shinkle. James 

Smitii, John F. S. 
Smith, Lewis E. 

Sjjahn, Joseph 

Stewart, James 
Stick ney, Al. O. 
Sylvester, Kos. CJ. 

Sylvester, Cu.shinp; 

Town.slcy, Ed. 
Trueman, Geo. S. 
Tut hill, Chiis. n. 
I'll man, James T. 



Chicago 



June 17, IStil 



Died at TuUahoma, 

Tenn., July 21, 1803 

Prom. Corp., nuist. out 

July 9, 1864 
Deserted Nov. 1, 1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Killed near Lafayette, 

Ga., Sept. 11, 1863 
Discharged Oct. 8, 1863 
Di.scharged Oct. 30, 1861 
Killed at Stone River, 

Jan. 2, 1863 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Mast, out July 9, 1864 
Deserted Dec. 3, 1861 
Dis. Sept. 13, 1863, for 

promotion. 
On detached service at 

Must, out 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Mar. 21, 1863, dis- 
ability 
In MiUtary Prison at 

Must, out 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Detached as 2d Lt. U. S. 

C. T. 
Dis. Oct. 30, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Died at home Jan. 11, '63 
Dis. Apr. 20, '63, wounds 
Must, out July 9, 1864 



o 

o 




c 





The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company A— Continued. 



81 



NAME AND UANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Privates. 

Van Brunt, Wm. H. Chicago 
^'l•eelan{l, John 

Wainwright, H. S. " 

^\'arner, Charles J. " 

Waters, Geo. INI. " 



.June 17, 1861 



Watson, John T. " 


li 


Warden, Samuel " 


« 


Wheeler, Ed. G. 


" 


Williams, Daniel 


" 


Wilson, William 


" 


Worth, William 


" 


Recruits. 




Blanchard, R. P. 


Nov. 6, 1861 


Brackett, Chas. E. " 


June 21, 1864 


Clark, Jos. P. 


June 17, 1861 


Chne, John Niles 


Dec. 22, 1863 


Cone, Albert Chicago Dec. 19, 1863 


Curran, John " 


Dec. 28, 1861 


Deal, George H. " 


Sept. 30, 1861 


Fergus, Robert G. 


Aug. 13, 1862 


Garrett, Geo. W. " 


June 27, 1861 


Gilbert, Wm. H. 


Sept. 25, 1861 


Glendon, John " 


Mar. 20, 1862 


Griffis, Wm. H. 


June 27, 1861 


Hanrety, Robt. E. 


June 14, 1862 


Harrison, Wm. H. 


Feb. 5, 1864 


Kercheval, Alex.W. 


June 17, 1862 



Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as 1st Sergt. 
Dis. Oct. 30, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Killed at Chickamauga 

Sept. 20, 1863 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Must, out Oct. 5, 1864 
Dis. Feb. 22, 1864, for 

promotion 
Left at Chattanooga 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

Absent, sick at Must, out 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Tiu'ned over for transfer 
Turned over for transfer 
Deserted Sept. 15, 1862 
Turned over for transfer 
Turned over for transfer 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out April 12, 1865 
Turned over for transfer 
Dis. Oct. 20, 1863 
Trans, to Inv. Corps 

Nov. 6, 1863 
Turned over for transfer 
Trans, to Dresser's Bat. 

Lt. Art. 



S2 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company A — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



Recruits. 
Kerr. C'harlrs Chicago 



Juno 17, 1862 



Leonunl, Thus. 


(( 


Mar. 20, 1862 


M(K»r. 'I'hos. A. 


n 


Sept. 24, 1861 


Murray, Jus. P. 


" 


June 27, 1861 


McCUiiro. M. S. 


•• 


Nov. 12, 1861 


McKay, William 




Oct. 1, 1861 


Novins, William 


'' 


June r.i, 1862 


Price, Wm. H. 


>( 


July 12, 1861 


Sampson, Robt. R. 




July 12, 1861 


Shine, George 


Bremen 


Dec. 14, 1863 


Slagle, Jos. L. 


Chicago 


July 12, 1861 


Stewart, A. C. 


" 


Nov. 3, 1863 


ritz. George 


i< 


June 18, 1861 


\'ahl, August 


Palestine 


Dec. 23, 1863 


N'aulkman, G. 


Niles 


Dec. 22, 1862 


Ward, Robert 


Chicago 




Wheeler, ('has. S. 


" 


Sept. 24, 1861 


Winslow, Z. 


<t 


COMPANY B. 


Sergeants. 






Hoardinan, J. G. 


Klmira 


June 17. 1861 


Hiiiilcr, .lohii U. 


a 


(1 


Jackson, William 




It 


Miintooth, Jas. 


Stark Co. 


It 


Pa.shley, John S. 


Mlmira 


« 



Died at Nashville, Feb. 

3, 1863, wounds 
Deserted Dec. 20, 1862 
Killed at Stone River, 

Dec. 31, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Turned over for transfer 
Promoted Drum Major 
Turned over for transfer 
Turned over for transfer 
Trans, to Co. D, 60th 111. 

Inf. 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Turned over for transfer 
Killed at Stone River, 

Jan. 2, 1863 
Turned over for transfer 
Turned over for transfer 
Deserted Apr. 20, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Trans, to 58th 111. Inf. 



as Private 
Prom. 1st Sergt. then 2d 

Lt. 
Prom. 2d Lt. 
Dis. Mar. 13, 1862, di.s- 

abihty 
Prom. Hospital Steward 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



83 



Company B — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. 


RESIDENCE. 


ENLISTED. 


REMARKS. 


CORPORALS. 








Blanchard, Jos. 


Elmira 


June 17, 1861 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Private 


Brace, Chas. H. 


Stark Co. 


(( 


Dis. June 20, 1862, dis- 
ability 


Hutchinson, Geo. 


Stark Co. 


it 


Dis. Nov. 8, 1862 as 
Private, disabihty 


Jackson, James 


Ehnira 




Prom. 1st Sergt., killed 
near Dalton, Ga., Feb. 
23, 1864 


Lamper, John G. 


Stark Co. 


u 


Dis. Oct. 4, 1861 as 
Private, disabihty 


Robinson, Thos. 


Ehnira 




Prom. Sergt. Dis. Feb. 6. 
1863, wounds 


Thornton, J. T. 


(( 


it 


Prom. Sergt. then 2d Lt. 


Turnbiill, Robt. A. 


Elmira 


u 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as 1st Sergt. 


Musicians. 








Bates, Isaiah N. 


Toulon 


(( 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Private 


Spencer, Isaac M. 


Stark Co. 




Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Private 


Wagoner. 








Dough s, John 


li 


it 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Private 


Privates. 








Adams, John Q. 


Elmira 


u 


Must, out July 9, 1864 



Aldrich, David N. 

Allen, David 
Atherton, Jas. 
Banister, Isaac 

Blackburn, John 



Stark Co. 



as Sergt. 
" Dis. Sept. 4, 1861, dis- 

ability 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

June 18, 1861 Trans, to Co. C 
June 17, 1861 Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, dis- 
abihty 
" Dis. Nov. 19, 1861, dis- 

abihty 



84 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company B— Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Privates. 
lilaokwt'll, Clias. 

Jilooni, Fml l\ 
Bourke, John 
liullis. Sainl. D. 

Burrow.-i, Henry 

Cade, William .\. 
Chamberlain, D. F 

Cinnamon, Jas. 

Clark, Walter 

Courier. A. '1'. 

Cowtlon, Fraiic.'.s 
Cowdon, Ceorgc 

Ctn'lin, ( )\ven 

Case, Juliu-s A. 
Davidson, H. F. 

Dougla.s, Wni. 
Drawyer, L. C. 
Drury, Henry 
Duftan, George 
Dunean, Ja.son (1. 

Krwin. l-'dward 

Ffii, Adam ('.. 



Klmira 



Stark Co. 



Elmira 
Stark Co. 



I'ilmira 

Toulon 
Stark Co. 



June 17, 1861 Died in Chattanooga 
Oct. 14, 1863, wounds 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

Dishonorable discharge 
Jime 18, 1861 Dis. Mar. 15, 1863, dis- 
ability 
June 17, 1861 Died Loui.sville, Apr. 9, 
1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864, 
" Must, out July 9, 1864, 

as Sergt. 
" Must, out July 9, 1864, 

as Corp. 
" Trans, to V'et. Res. Corps 

Sept. 30, 1863 
" Dis. Oct. 4, 1861, disa- 

bility 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Nov. 30, 1S62, dis- 
ability 
" Died, Nashville, Oct. 31, 

1862 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

Dis. Oct. 4, 1861, disa- 
bihty 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
June 18, 1861 Must, out July 9, 1864 
.luiic 17, 1S61 Dis. Feb. 28, '63, wounds 
Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, di.s- 
ability 
" AYounded at Dalton, Ga., 

Feb. 27, 1864, missing 
Dis. Nov. 25, 1862 to 
rc-enlist 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



85 



Company B — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Privates. 
Flemming, W. H. 



Stark Co. 



June 17 ,1861 



Galley, Phillip S. 


Toulon 


June 18, 


1861 


Cialley, Springer 


u 


it 




CJardiner, Reub. 


Stark Co. 


" 




Greenfield, Cha.s. 


ti 


11 




Hall, Wesley 


Palestine 






Harsh, Chester P. 


Elmira 


June 17, 


1861 


Hurment, A. S. 


Stark Co. 






Hutchins, Jas. 


n 






Imes, James 0. 


" 






Ingles, William 


Elmira 






Johnson, Wm. 


Toulon 






Jordan, Ed. U. 


Elmira 






Kempin, .Aj-nold 


Stark Co. 






Kennedy, John L. 


Elmira 






Kenyon, Isaac 


Stark Co. 


" 





Lamper, John M. 
Leason, Chas. N. 

Luce, Alonzo 
Mantooth, Sam 
Meigs, Jos. C. 
Merrill, Jas. 
Miller, George 



June IS, 1S61 



Dis. Jan. 20, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Trans, to Vet. Res. Coi-ps 

Jan. 25, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corp. 
Dis. Nov. 30, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Nov. 19, '61, wounds 
Transfrered to Co. C. 
Corp. Died at Miu-free.s- 

boro, April 11, 1863 
Dis. Feb. 6, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Killed at Stone River, 

Dec. 31, 1862 
Died at Nashville, Sept. 

18, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Sergt. died at Chatta- 
nooga Oct. 5, 1863 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt. 
Killed at Stone River 

Dec. 30, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Killed at Stone River 

Dec. 31, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out Sept. 27, 1864 



<^(; 



Tin: Xinetp:enth Illinois 

Company B — Continued. 



NAMK AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



l'HIV.\TES. 
Moon. Daniel J. 
Mornaii, Comfort 
Morgan, Cornel. 

Morgan, Colinnhu.>^ 



Stark Co. 



Juno 17, ISOl 
Juno IS, 1S61 



McSliorry, John 






" 




Nelson, Win. X. 






<( 




Nowoonihe, W. H. 


Toulon 




(( 




Pa.xk, Joseph F. 


Stark Co. 




(1 




Richer, (ieo. P. 


" 




(< 




Ryorson. Ceo. X. 


" 




It 




Scott, Robt. T. 


Klinira 




11 




Sharror, (loo. T. 


Stark Co. 




(( 




Shull, Henry C. 






11 




Spaiilding, J. (). 


.' 




It 




Stone, CJeo. H. 


Toulon 


June 


18, 


1861 


TorwiUigor, .\1. 


Stark Co. 


June 


17, 


1861 


TorwilUgor, K. X. 




June 


18, 


1861 


'I'urnhull, Thos. 


" 


Juno 


17, 


1801 


\'in.><on, .\mo.s 


ti 








Way, Kilwiii 1). 




Juno 


18, 


1861 


\\ ehher, John 


" 


June 


17. 


1861 


Williani.s. L. 


11 








Wortli, llonry M. 


Klniira 


Juno 


18, 


1861 



Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Died at Pilot Knob, Mo., 

Sept. 1.5, 1861 
Died at Murfreesboro 
Jan. 7, 1863, wounds 
Transferred to Co. C 
Absent, dotaohod at Mus- 
ter out 
Dis. July 31, 1862, di.s- 

ability 
Absent, detached at 

Must, out 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Corp., killed at Stone 

River, Jan. 2, 1863 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Wounded at Stone River 

Dec. 31, 1862, missing 

Dis. July 8, 1862, dis- 

abihty 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Transferred to Co. D 
Transferred to Co. D 
Dis. Feb. 8, '63, wounds 
Trans, to Vet. Res. C 

Nov. 1, 1863 
Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Jan. 28, 1863, dis- 

abiUty 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864, 
as Sergt. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



87 



Company B— Continued. 



NAME AND KANK. 


RESIDENCE. 


ENLISTED. 


REMARKS. 


Recruits. 








Adams, S. W. 


Moline 


Oct. 15, 1861 


Deserted Sept. 5, 1862 


Bell, Charles S. 


Chicago 


June 22, 1861 


Dis. Oct. 4, 1861, disa- 
bility 


Clark, Asui 


Star Co. 


Sept. 25, 1861 


Dis. Nov. 25, 1862, to 
re-enlist 


Comstock, Geo. 


'^ 


July 8, 1861 


Died at Louisville Oct. 
29, 1861 


Coon, Adrian 


Elmira 


Aug. 25, 1861 


Deserted July 9, 1862 


Coon, Urban 


Stark Co. 


" 


Must, out Sept. 20, 1864 


Corsan, Lewis 


(( 


June 27, 1861 


Dis. Sept. 4, 1861, dis- 
ability 


Fell, Robert 


Toulon 


Sept. 10, 1862 


Dis. Nov. 25, 1862, to 
re-enUst 


George, A. N. 


Lee Co. 


June 18, 1862 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


HaU, Charles 


Chicago 


Nov. 12, 1862 


Trans, to H'dq'rs 14th, 
Ar. Cor. 


Henderson, L. D. 


Stark Co. 




Must, out July 9, 1864 


Horrigan, F. 


Elmira 


June 18, 1862 


Killed at Pulaski, Tenn. 
May 2, 1862 


Hunt, Joseph R. 


Lee Co. 




Must, out July 9, 1864 


Imes, John 


Elmira 




Must, out July 9, 1864 


Imes, Martin 


11 




Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Corp. 


Imes, William 


it 


Oct. 15, 1862 


Killed at Reynolds Sta- 
tion, Aug. 27, 1862 


Jackson, David 


Osceola 


Sept. 10, 1862 


Trans, to H'dqu'trs, 14th 
Army Corps 


Johnson, A. T. 


Kewanee 


Oct. 18, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 


Jordan, Willard 


Stark Co. 


Nov. 3, 1861 


Killed at Chickamauga 
Sept. 20, 1863 


Kennedy, Pat 


Chicago 


(( 


Must, out Nov. 2, 1864 


Leacox, Jos. M. 




Sept. 10, 1862 


Trans, to Vet. Res. Corps 
Sept. 30, 1863 


Linsley, M. 


Stark Co. 




Missing since June 16, '62 


McConchie, John 






Must, out June, 1865 



ss 



Thk Nineteenth Illinois 

Company B— Continued. 



NAMK AND RANK. 


RESIDENCE 


ENLI.STED. 


REMARKS. 


Reckiits. 










< )ziah, Thos. \N . 


Toulon 


July S. 


isni 


Trans, to H'dqu'trs l-ltli 
Army Corjjs 


Ppt'bles, H<)l)i. 


( 'hicago 


Mar. 2, 


1S()2 


Tians. to H'd'qu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 


(^uinn, William 




Mar. 9. 


1K()1 


Must, out June 12, 1865 


Thornton, X. M. 


Kewanee 






Must, out July 9, 1864 


TiiinhuU, Ja.s. G. 


Stark Co. 


Sept. 10. 1862 


Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 










Army Corps 


W i.ilakiT, r H. 


Toulon 






Must, out July 9, 1864 


Yfoman.s, D. L. 


Lee Co. 






Must, out July 9, 1864 


Cook. 










Pierce, Frank 




Mar. 1(1 
COMPANY 


1, 1863 
C. 


Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
Ar. Co. Corps 


Sek<:;laxt.s. 










Cha.se, Ira .T. 


Chicago 


June 17 


, 1861 


Dis. Nov. 7, 1862, dis- 
ability 


Dye, llcracc 1). 




(( 




Reduced and trans, to 
53d 111. Inf. 


Morse, R. B. 


u 


It 




Dis. Oct. 22, 1861, for 
promotion 1st Lt. 
53d 111. 


(iuinton, \N in. 


" 


(( 




Prom. 2d Lt. Co. I 


Wood. Wa.^h. L. 




a 




Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 
ability 


CoKr<iuAi.s. 










Bickfonl, Thos. .1. 


Chicago 


" 




Dis. Jan. 15, 1862 as 
Private, disability 


Daiiiiiiiii, Will. 




(< 




Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Private 


Filkins, Kd. .\. 


" 


" 




Prom. Sergt. then 2d Lt. 


Cray, .\rthur V 


i'alatiiic 






Mu.st. out July 9, 1864 


Keill), Cyrus K. 


i< 


" 




Prom. Serg. then 2d Lt. 


Morse, Albert 


Chicago 


" 




Dis. Dec. 5, 1861 as 



Sergt., disability 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company C - Continued. 



89 



NAME AND RANK. 


RESIDENCE. 


ENLISTED. 


remarks. 


Corporals. 








Sawyer, Ed. M. 


Chicago 


June 17, 1861 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as 1st Sergt. 


Sawyer, Wm. E. 


a 




Dis. Apr. 6, 1863 as 
Sergt., disabihty 


Privates. 








Applebee, Frank 


Barrington 


(( 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Corporal 


Baldwin, J. W. 


Palatine 


(( 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Baltazer, L. 


Cook Co. 


" 


Must, out June 8, 1865 


Battis, Wilkins M. 


Barrington 




Dis. Sept. Ifi, 1863, dis- 
ability 


Beegan, John 






Deserted July 12, 1863 


Bernier, Alfred 


Kankakee 


ti 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Sergt. 


Billings, John 


Richmond 


" 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Borkvort, P. 


Chicago 


it 


Died at Stone River, Feb. 
26, 1863, wounds 


Boyd, Robert, 






Deserted July 12, 1863 


Carpenter, W. R. 


Palatine 


i( 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Sergt. 


Coleman, Miles 


Chicago 




Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Sergt. 


Craft, Delavan 


(( 


(( 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Corporal 


Creen, William 


" 


It 


Deserted Dec. 14, 1862 


Daniels, Webster 


Elk Grove 


it 


Dis. Apr. 9, 1863, dis- 
ability 


Davis, James A. 


Barrington 


" 


Killed at Tuscumbia, 
Ala., Apr. 19, 1862 


Deniol, Marcellus 


Palatine 


" 


IVIust. out July 9, 1864 
as Corporal. 


DeWait, William 




it 


Deserted July 12, 1861 


Duffy, John 




it 


Deserted July 12, 1861 


Edwards, Chas. 


St. Louis, Mo 


it 


Dis. Mar. 23, 1863, dis- 
ability 



'.»() 



Thk Xineteenth Illinois 

Company C — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



i'uiVATES. 

Ijinlaiid. John Chicago 

I'arriiintoii, S. L. 

lioiMc, l{ol»('rl 

C!at«'.'<, I'hinca.-^ P. Hie liiiiond 

(.ilfnnan, Jas. Chicjigo 

CoUisinith, Ja)^. M. Cook Co. 

( Irav.son, John Danton 

Handy. Ja.'<. L. Kankakee 

Harrison, liela Marshall 

Homer, Henry Cook Co. 

lliitcliinn.s, C. A. Palatine 

1 1 leal', Cliarle.s Cook Co. 

Kay. .lolm 
Kelle\', .lanie.s 

Kellojiji, Hir.ini Kiehniond 



I.eltoii, .\iinnsl 
Lincoln, Favall 



( 'ook Co. 
Palatine 



NLinill, James ( 'ook Co. 



.Martin, Miles 
.MeEiiiose. J. C. 



\\ lieaton 
Danton 



June 1 



, IStil Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, disa- 
bility 
Mu.st. out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Dis. July 6, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Aug. 25, 1861 
Re-enlisted as Veteran 
Dis. May 7, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, dis- 

abiUty 
Corp., killed at Chicago, 

June 17, 1864 
Deserted Mar. 18, 1862 
Killed at Chickamauga 

Sept. 20, 1863 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt . 
Deserted June IC), 1S62 
Dis. Nov. 5, 1861 as 

Corporal, disability 
Dis. Dec. 22, IStVi, di.s- 

ability 
Must, out June 9, 1865 
Trans, to Co. A., Must, 
out Julv 9, 1864 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company C — Continued. 



91 



NAME AND RANK. 



RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



Privates. 
McDonald, Jas. 
McGregor, John 

McKeeby, Edward 
McKeeby, Jas. 

Ramage, Wm. J. 
Rogers, James 
Sayles, Geo. C. 

Scliriner, Felix 
Scott, Daniel 
Sequin, Frank 
Somers, Jas. 

Sparr, Martin 
Sweezy, Henry 

Tabor, John 

Tanley, Mark 
Taylor, Rich. 

Tobell, Joseph 

Towey, John 
Walker, Albert D. 
Weinand, Peter 
Wilkinson, Job 
Wilson, Chas. S. 



Richmond 
Chicago 

Cook Co. 
Chicago 

Philadelphia 
Cook Co. 
Palatine 

Chicago 

Kankakee 
Chicago 



Palatine 
Richmond 

Palatine 

a 

Richmond 
Chicago 



June 17, 1S61 



Winslow, Zeb. R. 

Wisman, Fred. Palatine 



Must, out July 9, 18G4 
Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Absent, sick, at Must, out 
Trans, to Inv. Corp.s 

July 1, 1863 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Deserted Aug. 10, 1862 
Trans, to Sig. Corps Oct, 

26, 1863 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Deserted July 25, 1861 
Must, out Apr. 25, 1865 
Dis. Oct. 30, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Deserted July 12, 1861 
Corp., died at Stone 
River, Jan. 3, '63, w'ds 
Killed at Chickamauga 

Sept. 20, 1863 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Apr. 16, 1864 as 

Corporal, disabilitj'^ 
Deserted July 12, 1861 
Deserted Aug. 14, 1861 
Deserted July 12, 1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Must, out July 9, 1864 



no 



\ AMK ANO HANK. 



Tin:' XlXETEENTH IM-INOIS 
Company C— Continued. 



KKSIDENCE. 



ENUSTED. 



Privates. 

W.mmI. Thos. M. 

\V Is, .!:(> 

^ (Hiiin. Jacob 

Younn, Lewis 
\'ktkhans. 
Hall, Wesley 
Harrison, Bela 
Henne.sy, Mich. 
Maude, John 
Muldoon, Anth. 

Rkcruits. 
Atherton, Ja.s. 

IJal.lwin. Ilii. P. 

Hassctt, (leo. 
Udwc. John 



Palatine 

WheelinK 

Chicago 

Cook Co. 

Palatine 
Chicago 
Cook Co. 
Woodstock 
Chicago 

Chicago 

Palatine 

Woodstock 
Ciiicago 



limns, .\nilre\v " 

Buxton. Spencer S. Palatine 



Cru.sen, G. K. 
Davis, Henry C. 
Klinn, Michael 
Powler, L. A. 
( "lould, Cicorge 



Hall, Wcsl.-y 
H.imov. .M. 



( 'ook Co. 
Cincinnati 
Cook Co. 
Chicago 

Palatine 



I'alaline 
( 'ook Co. 



June 17, 1861 Dis. Mar. 1, 1863, dis- 
ability 
" Dis. Mar. 26, 1863, dis- 

abiUty 
" Missing in action at Tu.s- 

cumbia, Apr. 24, 1862 
Deserted July 22, 1862 

Dec. 21, 1863 Turned over for transfer 

Mar. 8, 1864 Transferred to 60th III. 

Dec. 21, 1863 Turned over for transfer 

Jan. 12, 1864 Turned over for transfer 

Mar. 21, 1864 Tran.sferred to 60th 111. 



Jvnie 17, 1S61 

June 25, 1861 

Sept. 2.-), 1861 
June IS, 1861 

<i 

Sept. 2.5, 1861 

June 2o, 1861 
July 6, 1861 
June 18, 1861 
June 25, 1861 
Sept. 25, 1861 



Jiuie IS, 1SC)1 
Julv (■>, lS(;i 



Dis. Oct. 30, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Jan. 27, 1864, dis- 
ability 
Must, out Sept. 24, 1864 
Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

a.s Corporal 
Dis. July 21, 1862, dis- 
ability 
]\Iust. out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Deserted June 9, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Corp., died Nov. 28, 1863 
of wounds received at 
Missionary Ridge 
Veteran 
l{e-enlisted as Veteran 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company C — Continued. 



93 



NAME AND RANK. 


RESIDENCE. 


ENLISTED. 


REMARKS. 


Recruits. 








Holt, Calvin C. 


Kewanee 


July 6, 1S61 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Sergt. 


I vis, John 


Chicago 


Sept. 25, 1S61 


Dis. Feb. 24, 1863, dis- 
abihty 


James, Wm. T. 


Muscatine 


July 6, 1861 


Dis. Mar. 1, 1863, dis- 
ability 


Kelly, John 


Chicago 


Mar. 20, 1861 


Dis. Mar. 19, 1863, dis- 
ability 


Kennedy, Anth. 


ii 


June 25, 1861 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Lee, E. R. 


Cook Co. 


June 18, 1861 


Deserted March, 1862 


Muldoon, Anth. 


Chicago 


Mar. 20, 1862 


Re-enlisted as Veteran 


Maude, John 


Woodstock 


Sept. 25, 1861 


Re-enlisted as Veteran 


McSherry, Jas. 


Kewanee 


June 25, 1861 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Moore, Peter 


Chicago 


June 18, 1861 


Deserted July 6, 1862 


Morse, James 


Cook Co. 


li 


Deserted Sept. 21, 1861 


Ott, Francis 


Chicago 


July 6, 1861 


Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, dis- 
ability 


Parker, Chas. 


11 


June 18, 1861 


Dis. Nov. 23, 1861, dis- 
ability 


Pratt, Frank 


Boston, Mass. 


i< 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Purdy, Wm. F. 


Palatine 


ti 


Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 
abihty 


Robinson, C. 




June 25, 1861 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Rodgers, And. 


Chicago 


Nov. 1, 1861 


Turned over for transfer 


Smirnoff, Alex. 


Ottawa 


Sept. 25, 1861 


Prom. Corp. and Sergt., 
killed Sept. 20, 1863, 
battle Chickamauga 


Strothers, Geo. C. 


Chicago 


(( 


Trans. Co. B, 15th V.R.C. 


Topp, August 


Barrington 


Sept. 2, 1862 


Died at Andersonville 
Prison July 9, 1864, 
Grave 3,064 


Wafter, Joseph 


Cook Co. 


June 18, 1861 


Deserted Aug. 9, 1861 


WilUams, John 


Chicago 


June 24, 1861 


Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, dis- 
ability 



1)4 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company C — Contimiod. 
name and rank. residence. enlisted. remarks, 

Recruit.-*. 

Wilson. Thos. J. Cliicaso .June IS, 1861 Di.-<. Mar. 1, 1S()3, dis- 

ability 

WiMinaii. II. Palatini- Dec. Vi, IStU Dis. July 28, 1862, dis- 

ability 

Woo.!. Marshall " Sept. 25, 1861 Dis. Sept. 10, 1803, dis- 

ability 

( '( )<)K. 

Ibinis, Robert Mar. 3, 1863 Turned over for transfer 

COMPANY D. 

Skh(;kants. 

Cuniiintihaui, Peter Chieago .lune 17, 1861 Prom, to 1st Lieut. 

Kanies, (). \]. " " Prom, to 1st. Lieut. 

Cioldsinilh, J. Milwaukee " Died at Murfreesboro 

Dec. 31, 1862, wounds 

Longley, H. W. Chicago " Must, out July 9, 1864 

as 1st Sergt. 

M<I,auM:lilin. K. W. " •• Dis. Feb. 9, 1862, dis- 

ability 

Walker, Cleo. " " Tran.s., Musi, out June 

17, 1864 
CouroKAi-s. 

l^arden, L. Philadclpiiia •' Must, out July 9, 1864 

I'ellman, .M. J. New York • Dis. Jan. 29, 1863, dis- 

ability 

I'i.scher, ("has. Chicago •• Dis. April 29, 1862, dis- 

ability 

llani>. L. \V. " " Trans, to Inv. Corps 

llaynie, J. Henry " ■• Must, out July 9, 1864 

McCracken, II. " Kill(>(l at Stone River 

Jan. 2, 1863 

•"^'"'il'. •' H. " •• Dis. Oct. 31, *1862, dis- 

ablity 

Taylor, W. IJ. •' •• Dis. Mar. 20, 1S63, dis- 

ability 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company D — Continued. 



95 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



Musicians. 
Casler, Abe 
McGregor, J. C. Chicago 

Privates. 
Akin, Alexander " 

Allen, George " 

Anderson, A. E. " 

Armstine, Jac. " 

Bennett, F. M. " 

Blake, Joseph 
Burch, P. J. 

Carter, Henry E. " 

Clifford, Wm. 



Comly, Adam 

Coyle, James 
Coyle, Thomas 
Cunningham, D. 
Daggy, Hen. Clay 



Dowagiac 
Chicago 



Daly, Patrick 
Dennis, C. W. " 

Derr, Jackson " 

Eddings, Wm. " 

Feagan, Nich. " 

Ferris, Chas. " 

Forbes, C. K. 

Gates, Henry Elgin 

Golden, Thos. Chicago 

Goldsmith, A. 

Hannon, Mat. " 



June 17, 1861 Must, out July 9, 1864 

" Died at Ironton, Mo., 

Aug. 28, 1861 
" Must, out July 9, 1964 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
Deserted July 28, 1862 
Corp., Died Mar. 10, '63 
" Deserted June 21, 1861 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
" Prom, to 2d Lieut. 

" Captured at Chickamau- 

ga Sept. 20, 1864 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt. 
" Re-enlisted as Veteran 

Deserted Dec. 31, 1862 
Deserted Aug. 8, 1862 
Corp., died Jan. 5, 1863 
of wounds received at 
Stone River 
" Deserted June 21, 1861 

Corp. died Mar. 13, 1862 
Corp., died Mar. 29, 1862 
Must, out Sept. 17, 1864 
Deserted Dec. 31, 1862 
" Re-enlisted as Veteran 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Sergt. 
" Died at Bacon Creek, 

Ky., Jan. 23, 1862 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

Transferred to Co. F 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 



<H> 



Tm; Nineteenth Illinois 

Company D— Contimied. 



NAME AND RANK. KE8IDENCE. 



Privates. 
llciulricks, J. 
IliKpiiis. \\ III. 
H.M.ch. li. V. 
Hutcliins. K. 

liinol*^. NN 111. 

Kelly, Will. H. 
I>c\vis, H. 

LonjI, Win. 
Mahur, Win. 
Malinncv, Thus. 



Mal<incv, .loiin 

.Mar.«^liall. .John 

Mathews. Win. 

McC^uaid, Kd. 
Monrax, Luke 
Morgan, Jas. 
O'Donnell. Wni. 
I'hilhp.'^, Ceo. 

Pierre, Warren 
Retinish, John 
Hi<-liarils. .John 



Chieajio .June 17. ISdl Must, out July i), 1SI)4 

Deserted Dee. 1, 1862 
Mu.st. out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Sept. 10, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Nov. 22, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Dropped June 30, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Deserted Aug. 27, 1861 
Re-enlisted as Veteran 
" Died at Chattanooga 

Dec. 9, 1863 of wounds 
received in Battle of 
Chiekaniauga 
Dis. May 8, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Trans. 4th U. 8. Cav. 

Nov. 27, 1862 
Mu.st. out July 9, 1864 

as Corjjoral 
Re-enlisted as Veteran 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

Deserted June 23, 1861 
Trans. 4th U. S. Cav- 

Nov. 27, 1862 
Must, out June 24, 1865 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Nov. 18, 1863 as 

Corporal, disability 




Gen. John B. Turchin. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company D — Continued. 



97 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



Privates. 
Russell, M. 
Sandler, I^ewis Chicago 



Sherrow, Nick. 

Simmons, H. A. 
Smith, Arny 
Smith, Joseph 

Stevens, And. 
Stranger, Jacob 

Thompson, Geo. 

Townsend, Robt. 
Tracey, J. M. 

Veattie, Aug. 

Vickery, A. A. 
Watson, Wm. S. 

Wells, Phil. H. 

Wilson, John 
^^'indling, Fred. 

Younger, Chas. 

Veterans. 
Coyle, James 
Ferris, Jos. C. 
Graves, Edm'd G. 
Mahar, Wm. 
McLellan, D. A. 



June 17' 1861 



Dec. 22, 1863 



Mar. 8, 1864 



Corp., died in Anderson- 
ville Prison Oct. 8, 
1864, Grave 10,512 

Corp., Trans, to 4th U. 
S. Cav. Nov. 27, 1862 

Deserted Aug. 31, 1861 

Dis. July 29, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Re-enlisted as Veteran 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt. 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt. 
Deserted June 19, 1861 
On detached duty at 

Must, out 
Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, dis- 

abihty 
Deserted Aug. 26, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis.. May 8, 1863 as 

Sergt., disabiUty 
Discharged for disability 

Turned over for transfer 
Tin-ned over for transfer 
Turned over for transfer 
Turned over for transfer 
Turned over for transfer 



•)S 



Thk Nineteenth Illinois 

Company D -ConlimuMl. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Phivatks. 

McQuaul, K<i. 
Smith, M. W. 
Smith, Jolin .\. 
Stevens, And. 
\'a.s.sier, Cha.-<. 

Hkcruit.';. 
Adair, David 
KoUcs. .lac.ih 

Hurivhardl, Ad. 

Clifford. Jolm 
Doyle, David 
(lillesjjie, John M. 
( 'i lover, Francis 
(iraves, Ed. C!. 
(Iriggs, (leo. A. 
Homes Kd. (). 

Lee, Edward 
Madden, Sam. 

McCrath, .las. 

M< Lcllan, D. A. 
IMiiiiips. .los. 

Powell, Edward 
Hoaeh, Nieh. 
Ilt)urk.e, Darby 

Sim|)son, Ed. L. 

Smith, John A. 
Smith, M. W. 



("hicano 
\\'auk<'^an 
( "liicafio 

St. Louis 
("hicafjo 



("arhondalc 
( "liicafto 



Dec. 21, 1S(W 



Dec. 30, 1863 
June IS, 18G1 

Dec. 3, ISOl 

June 18, 1861 
Jan. 4, 1864 
June 18, 1861 
Jan. 5, 1864 

Nov. L"), 18()1 



Jan. 2, 18(54 
June 18, 1861 



Waukegan 



Mar. 20, 1862 
June 18, 1861 



Nov, 20, 1861 



Dis. Mar. 13, 1864 
Turned over for transfer 
Deserted May 7, 1864 
Turned over for transfer 
Deserted Mar. 7, 1864 

Turned over for transfer 
Dis. Mar. 1.5, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Dropped as deserter Dec. 

31, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Turned over for transfer 
Deserted July 7, 1862 
Must, out July 31, 1865 
Trans, to Co. D, 60th 111. 
Deserted Mar. 18, 1862 
Killed at \\'inehester, 
Teuu., June 16, 1862 
Turned over for transfer 
Died at Murfreesboro 

Jan. 25, 1863, w'ds 
Dis. Sept. 27, 1862, dis- 
ability 
He-enlisted as Veteran 
Died at Bacon Creek, 

Ky., Jan. 29, 1S(V2 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Turned over for transfer 
Trans, to Inv. Corps 

Sept. 30, 1863 
Dis. Mar. 11, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Re-enlisted as ^'eteran 
Re-enlisted as Veteran 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company D— Continued. 



99 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Privates. 
Tansey, John 
Tcrwilliger, A. A. 
Terwilliger, E. N. 
VanVert, John 

\'assier, Chas. 
^^'alkel•, George 

WeUs, Hem-y H. 

WiUard, Thos. 
Wood, Charles 

Under Cook. 
Edwards, John 



Sergeants. 
Baird, Andrew 
Blythe, Thos. 
Chalmers, And. 

Raff en, James W. 
Steel, George 
Corporals. 
Davidson, Wm. 

Evans, John A. 

Gordon, Ed. 

Huntington, J. C. 

Reed, Smith 



Chicago 



St. Louis 
Chicago 



Winona, Mich. 



June 18, 1861 Must, out July 9, 1864 
Deserted Aug. 29, 1861 
Must, out Apr. 5, 1865 
" Dropped as deserter June 

1, 1862 
" Re-enlisted as Veteran 

" Trans, to Inv. Corps as 

Sergt. 
" Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, dis- 

ability 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

Must, out July 9, 1864 



Nov. 1, 1863 Turned over for transfer 
COMPANY E. 

Chicago June 4, 1861 Dis. Aug. 9, '62, wounds 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
as 1st Sergt. 
" " Prom, to 2d Lieut. 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Springfield " Dis. July 31, 1863 as 

Private, disability 
Chicago " Must, out July, 1864 

as Private 
Must, out July, 1864 
as Private 
" " Prom. Sergt., died of 

wounds Feb. 28, 1863 
at Nashville 
Dis. July 28, 1862, dis- 
ability 



11)0 



The Nineteenth Illinois 
Company E— Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



Corporals. 

Walton, Rich. 
Mo.\rtliur, David 
M(C;ra\v. .]as. 

MlSICIANS. 

McDonald, .lohii 

SliiTnian, Nat. 

Wa(;onkr. 
King, Thoma-s 

Tkivatk.s. 
Apncw, Tho.s. A. 

At wood, Amos 
IJarr, Thomas 
Hartlett, L. 
Harram, John 
licckiT, ("has. 
Blakiu'V. Sam. 
Hdiirk, .lohii 

Cadwcll, Daviil 

Chicld, ('has. 
(Christian, .las. 

Conhn, Mich. 
Coiinhhn, Pat . 

Crichlon, .las. 

Cimnin^iliani, !•.. S. 



Chicago June 4, 1681 Discharged, disabiUtj' 

Mu.st. out July 9, 1864 
Springfield " Killed at Na.shville Sept. 

12, 1862 

Cliicago June 1<), isGl Dis. June 25, 1861, dis- 

ability 
June 4, 1861 Prom, to Prin. Musician 

" Trans, to V. R. C. Sept. 

20, 1863 

June 17, 1861 Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Sorgt. 
SpringficUl June 4, 1861 Deserted July 10, 1861 

" Deserted Sept. 12, 1861 

Chicago " Discharged for disability 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
" " Deserted Sept. 12, 1861 

Springfield " Deserted July 31, 1861 

Chicago Died at Louisville .\pr. 

11, 1862 
" June 17, 1S61 Dis. Nov. 30, 1861, dis- 

ability 
June 4, 1861 Must. oiU July 9, 1864 
" Must, out May 19, 186.'> 

as Corporal 
" " Must, out July 9, 1864 

" " Dis. Mar. 26, 1863, di.s- 

ability 
Uioominglon " . Dis. (3ct. 2, 1863, dis- 

ability 
Springlicld " Must, out Julv 9, 1864 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company E— Continued. 



101 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



REMARKS. 



Privates. 
Davis, Sylv. L. 
Downs, Chas. 
Eastman, Chas. 
Elmore, Travis 

Farrell, Thos. 
Fitzpatrick, J. 

Forbes, Alex. 

Fuller, Weston C. 
Gertlin, Mich. 

Gibbs, L. B. 
Grove, Aug. 
Grove, Wm. H. 

Joel, George 

Kelly, Martin 
Lamb, Wm. 
Mann, Andrew 

McEvoy, Daniel 

McGuire, John 

McLauchlin, J. 
Murphy, Wm. 
Nixon, Henry 

Noble, J. P. G. 



Chicago 

Springfield 
Chicago 



Springfield 
Chicago 



Springfield 
Chicago 



Springfield 



Chicago 

Springfield 

Chicago 



June 4, 1861 

it 

June 17, 1861 
June 4, 1861 



Re-enlisted as Veteran 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Deserted Feb. 18, 1862 
Dis. July 22, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Died at Nashville Sei)t. 

11, 1862 
Dis. Nov. 8, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. June 25, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Deserted Sept., 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Wagoner, Must, out July 

9, 1864 
Died of wounds at Mur- 
freesboro Jan. 5, 1863 
Killed Sept. 17, 1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Killed at Nashville Sept. 

15, 1862 
Missing in action, Stone 

River, Dec. 31, 1862 
Trans, to V. R. C. Sept. 

20, 1863 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Mar. 18, 1862, dis- 

abiUty 
Died Jan. 6, 1863 of 
wounds received at 
Stone River 



102 



Thb: Nineteenth Illinols 

Company E — Continued. 



NAMK AM) HANK. KESIDKNCE. 



UEMAHKS. 



Privates. 
O'Brian. I^:in'l 

Patteson, \\n\. 
Pettit, Wm. (" 
Hoynolds, J. H. 

Robinson, Nels. (i 
Schmidt, Phil. 
Schuhz, Otto 

Strang, Steph. 

Thrasher, .Jas, H. 
'i'omlin, .John 
WaLsh, Thos. C. 
Wt'stfall, Geo. 

White, Jas. M. 
A\ ignall, Thos. 
Witherow, I. X. 
^\ Ood, Francis 
Wood, Geo. A. 

Veterans. 
Davis, Sylv. L. 

Thra.sher, .J. II. 

Recruits. 
.\nderson. Mat. 



.\iistin, Isaac 
Bennett, .1. 
liclhuiie, CO. 



S])riii>ifield .June 4, IStil Corj)., died at Chatta- 

nooga Dec. 1, 1863 
" " Captured at Stone River 

" '■ Left in hospital, deserted 

Chicago " Must, out July 9, 1.S04 

as Corporal 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Springfield " Deserted Sept. 5, 1861 

Chicago •* Dis. Mar. 18, 1862, dis- 

abiUty 
SpritigHeld " Died at Chattanooga Oct. 

1, 1862 
" " Rc-enlistcd as Veteran 

Chicago " Must, out July 9, 1864 

" " Died Apr. 10, '63, wounds 

Dis. Jan. 31, 1862, dis- 
ability' 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Springfield " Must, out July 9, 1864 

Deserted June 18, 1861 
Chicago '' Trans, to V. R. C. 

" Must, out July 9, 1864 

Dec. 21, 1863 Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
A. C. 
" Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 

A. C. 

Chicago Oct. 21, 1861 Died Sept. 29, 18()2 

wounds received at 
Chickainauga 
June 20, 1861 Died Mar. 5, 1862 
June 21, 1S61 Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out Julv 9, 1S64 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



103 



Company E — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. 


RESIDENCE. 


ENLISTED. 


REMARKS. 


Recruits. 








Bremner, Robt. 


Chicago 


Feb. 1, 1862 


Trans. H'dqu'trs 14th 
Ar. Corps 


Bremner, \\m. C. 




Nov. 7, 1861 


Trans. H'dqu'trs 14th 
Ar. Corps. 


Brosnahan, J. 




Dec. 12, 1862 


Trans. H'dqu'trs 14th 
Ar. Corps 


Carmichael, D. 


It 


Apr. 2, 1862 


Died at Nashvilh; Jan. 
2, 1863 


Da\v.son, Thos. 


Cook Co. 




Deserted Dec. 18, 1861 


Fanning, Pat. 


Chicago 


Jan. 26, 1864 


Trans. H'dqu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 


Fletcher, Robt. 


11 


June 22, 1861 


Discharged, disability 


Frazer, A. MeL. 


ii 


June 4, 1861 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Corporal 


Giiswold, J. C. 


it 


June 19, 1861 


Died in Andersonville 
Prison July 27, 1864, 
Grave 4,083 


Guthrie, Peter F. 


St. Charles 


June 26, 1861 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Sergt. 


Hackett, Geo. 


Chicago 


Mar. 20, 1862 


Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 


Hays, John 


ii 


Oct. 22, 1861 


Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 


Holz, Henry 


u 


Feb. 9, 1864 


Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
.Army Corps 


Irons, And. 


It 


July 12, 1864 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Corporal 


Jones, Michael 




Sept. 16, 1861 


Dis. Apr. 20, 1863, dis- 
ability 


Lawler, Thos. 




Sept. 17, 1861 


Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
A. C. as Corporal 


Law, Thomas 


it 


June 19, 1861 


Dis. July 21, 1862, dis- 
ability 


Lawrence, J. 


It 


Mar. 20, 1862 


Trans, to H'dqu'trs I4th 
Army Corps 



1(14 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

CoMPANV E— Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



REMARKS. 



Privatks. 
Macinillan, I). 
Malconi, W. .1. 
Marr, .lolin 

.Mallc>un, II. C 
McDonald, Jas. 

Mcl.fan, .loliii 
O'Sullivan, Tim 
Patterson, T. (". 

Tatter-son, W. 

Pot linger, W. 

Rimer, John 
Simmons, A. S. 

Skinner, Ur. S. 

Ski|)!sey, Jos. 
Stephens, J. E. A. 
Tarleur. Paul 



Chieano .lune 21, IStil 

Xov.20, 1S()2 

Si. C:iiarlcs .hily 11, ISlil 

Chicago Sej)!. Hi, ISCl 

Oct. 22, 1861 
Dec. 1, 1802 
Nov. 1, lS(il 

St. Loui.s July 27, ISGl 

Chicago Oct. 22, 1861 

June 20, 1861 
Quincy July 14, 1861 

Chicago Dec. 1-4, 1863 

July 1, 1861 
July 3, 1861 
Feb. 2, 1864 



Tucker, .\lf. U. (^lincy July 17, 1S61 



Walker, And. 
Welch, Thos. 

W hippie, Orlow 

W ilsoM, Ja.s. W. 

Vnuiig, 11. ('. 



Chicago June 19, 18()1 

July 3, 1861 

June 29, 1861 

Dec. 30, 1S63 

SI. Charles Julv 11. ISCI 



Must, out July 9, 1864 

Killed Oct. 31, 1861 

Trans, to H'dcfu'trs. 
14th A. C. 

Prom. Hospital Steward 

Dis. Jan. 16, 1862, di.s- 
abihty 

Tran.s. to 23d 111. Inf. 

Trans, to \'et. Res. Corjjs 

Trans, to H'dciu'trs 14th 
A. C. 

Ivillcd at Missionary 
Ridge Nov. 25, 1863 

Trans, to H'dciu'trs 14th 
A. C. 

Died July 4, 1863 

Dis. Sept. 13, 1861, dis- 
ability 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
A. C. 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Dis. Jan. 31, '62, wounds 

Trans, to H'drju'trs 14th 
A. C. 

Dis. Oct. 4, 1862. dis- 
ability 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Killed by a citizen of 
Nashville Sept. 15, '62 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
A. C. 

Trans, to ll'dciu'trs Mtli 
A. C. 

Dis. Oct. 27, 1S()3, dis- 
ability 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



105 



Company E — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Under Cook. 
Jones, William 



Nov. (), ISO)) Trans, to liMcm'trs 14th 
A. C. 

COMPANY F. 



Sergeant.'^. 
Chaffer, Thos. Mrginia 

Campbell, J. G. " 

Hill, John 

Marcey, Dan. Chandlervilk 

Corporals. 
Bobbitt, John W. Manito 

Bobbitt J. W. S. 

Goldsmith, A. Chicago 

Job, Arch. W. Virginia 

Plummer, Add. G. " 

Porter, S. W. 

^^•ard, Hor. E. 

Musicians. 
Drew, John Chicago 

Valentine, C. H. 

Wagoner. 
Wanchel, Moses Virginia 



June 17, 1861 Reduced, Must, out July 
9, 1864 
Prom, to 2d Lieut. 
" Prom, to 2d Lieut. 

" Must, out July 9, 1864 



Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 
ability 

Killed in R. R. accident 
Sept. 17, 1861 

Dis. Mar. 23, 1863, 'dis- 
ability 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Private 

Reduced, re-enlisted as 
Veteran 

Sergt., Trans, to Inv. 
Corps Nov. 1, 1863 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Private 
Killed in R. R. accident 

Sept. 17, 1861 

Dis. Jan. 16, 1862, dis- 
ability 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

COMPANY F — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. ENLISTED. REMARKS. 

Pni\ ATKS. 
Alland. Wni. Chicago Junr 17. 1S()1 Died .Jan. lo, 186:i of 

wovuui.s received at 
Stt)n(" River 
\ii.l.r>nii. II. K. Virginia " Musi, out .July 9, 1864 

.\rni(i, Marri.son Manito " :\Iu8t. out July 9, 1864 

.\sht()n. Har. • " Deserted Aug. 8, 1862 

liarrows, .lohn X'iigiuia " Dis. June 16, 1863, dis- 

ability 
Kakcr, Jacob • " Deserted Dec. 31, 1862 

licck. William Chandlervillc " Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergeant 
UimIh. .\1. C. Virginia " Corp., Dis. Nov. 30, 

1861, disability 
li()l)l)itt. K. I) Manito " Must, out July 9, 1864 

Hordcr, Ja.s. II. \ irginia " Dis. Mar. 15, 1863, Corp. 

disability 
Bouycr, .\. J. Havana " Corp., Killed at Chicka- 

niauga, Sept. 20, 1S63 
Brown, Chas. Chicago " Must, out July 9, 1864 

Brown, Sid. B. \irginia " Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 

ability 
Brown, Win. K. " " Dis. July 31, 1862. dis- 

ability 
Burns, .hinics Chicago " Dis. Nov. 30, 1861, dis- 

ability 
Cadwcll. \\iii. I'ckin " Dis. Feb. 1, 1862, dis- 

ability 
Clark, Edward Virginia " Deserted July 28, 1861 

Coinian, John .Springfield " Trans, to Inv. Corps 

Nov. lo, 1863 
Conley, Dennis \irginia " Mu.st. out July 9, 1864 

Cording, Frc(L '• " Dis. Feb. 11. 1862, dis- 

ability 
i;<ldy, Fd. .\. Manito " Must, out July 9, 1864 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company F — Continued. 



107 



NAME AND RANK. 



RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



Privates. 






(iriffin, Sam'l 


Springfield 


June 17, 1861 


Hamilton, T. A. 


Virginia 


11 


Hill, Enoch 


Manito 


i( 


Hodkinson, J. 


Virginia 


" 


Joslin, Geo. H. 


Chicago 


u 


Kellogg, 0. P. 


Springfield 


(( 


Kent, Silas W. 


Virginia 


" 


Keys, John 


Chandlerville 


" 


Lacy, Thos. J. 


a 


" 


Learned, H. 


Virginia 


" 


Leister cew, Al. 


(( 


It 


Lindsy, John 


it 


tt 


McCormick, A. 


Springfield 


" 


McLaughlin, J. 




tt 


MiUs, R. W. 


Arcadia 


'• 


Mitchell, Henry 


Springfield 


it 


Monteice, C. W. 


" 


it 


Moor, Chris. 


it 


1( 


Myers, James 


" 


tt 


Owen, William 


Virginia 


" 


Reed, Ormd. D. 


(( 


" 



Regan, Jas. T. Manito 

Rhineberger, I. D. Springfield 

Remis, Wm. Virginia 
Reynolds, Mich. " 

Russel, John " 



Killed at Stone River 

Dec. 31, 1862 
Re-enlisted as Veteran 
Dis. Nov. 7, 1861, dis- 

abihty 
Died in Ohio Oct. 5, 1861 
Deserted Oct. 1, 1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Prom. Serg. and 2d Lieut. 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Corp., wounded and miss- 
ing at Chickamauga 
Dis. Feb. 7, 1862, dis- 

abiUty 
Discharged July 2, 1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Nov. 21, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 . 

as Corporal 
Dis. Nov. 21, 1861, dis- 

abihty 
Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Nov. 21, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 



lOS 



Thk Nineteenth Ti.i.inois 

Company F — Continued. 



\ \ME AND RANK. RKSIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



UKMAKKS. 



Privates. 

Shilcr. .I:is. L. 

Smith, Daniel 
.•^iiiill), .las. R. 
'IVrnaii, Martin 
Van Brunt, J. 



Wanl. Walker 

W clcli, Wni. 
\\ Cntworth, .1. 
Wickprsham, .J. 

Zano, \\'illiam 

\ktkh.\.ns. 
lli'ss, Abraham 

Hamilton, T. A. 



Chicafio 
\'ir,iiinia 

Chicago 

It 

Sin-iiifjlich 



\'(inoy, Pros])or Chicajjo 



\'ir{>;inia 
Springfield 
Chicago 
S[)ringfield 

Chicago 
]{ushville 



I'lmnmor, Ad. CI. \'irgiiiia 

Hkchiits. 
.\t\vood, Henry S. \'irginia 

Uobhitt, S. S. Chicago 

Hid<ll*-coml>, 1) II. 



.Tune 17, 1S<)1 Died at Nashville Mar- 
10, 18fi2 

Dis. July 31, lSt32, di,s- 
ability 
" Di.s. Nov. 27, 1862, to en- 

list in 4th Cavalry 
" Dis. Feb. 26, lS«:i, dis- 

ability 

Died Nov. 27, 1863 of 
wounds 

De.serted June 16, 1862, 
charges removed by 
Special Orders 

Dis. Nov. 27, 1862, to en- 
list in 4th Cavalry 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Deserted May 14, 1862 

Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 
ability 

Dis. Nov. 27, 1862 to en- 
list in 4th Cavalry 

Dec. 22, 1863 Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 

A. C. 
Mar. 28, 1863 Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 

A. C. 
Mar. 2<), 1863 Trans, to H'dciu'trs 14th 

A. C. 

July 22, 1861 Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 

A. C. 
Dec. 2, 1861 Killed at Missionary 

Ridge Nov. 25, 1863 
Apr. 2, 1862 Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 

A. C. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company F— Continued. 



109 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Recruits. 






Bloom, Henry 


]\Ianito 


Dec. 2, 1861 


Booth, William 


Chicago 


July 22, 1861 


Cogdal, Wm. 


Manito 


Dec. 2, 1861 


Cox, FeUx Ci. 


\'irginia 


July 22, 1861 


Ficker, Oscar 


C'ollege Grove 


Dec. 14, 1863 


Hess, Aber. 


Chandlerville 


June 28, 1861 


Kelly, Ed. T. 


Chicago 


Feb. 1, 1864 


Life, Joseph 


Quincy 


July 25, 1861 


McMahon, John 


Chicago 


Feb. 10, 1864 


McMullen John 


^"irginia 


July 22, 1861 


Pardy, Humph. 


Chicago 


Feb. 10, 1864 


Porter, R. L. 


Virginia 


July 22, 1861 


Rodgers, Ben. F. 


Chicago 


(( 


Russell, John Ci. 


u 


June 26, 1861 


Ryan, James 


li 


Mar. 20, 1862 


Ryan, James 


It 


Jan. 21, 1864 


Southwell, Jas. 


it 


July 3, 1861 


Stitchell, J. C. 


'■• 


June 20, 1861 


Sullivan, And. 


^'irginia. 


Mar. 20, 1862 


Vaughan, Coluni. 


Jacksonville 


IMar. 12, 1S64 


WiUiams, Hiram 


Chicago 


Jan, 22, 1864 



Trans, to H'dqu'trs 141 h 

A. C. 
Must, out Aug. 16, 1864 
Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 

abilitj^ 
Dis. July 24, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Must, out Aug. 7, 1865 
Re-enlisted as Veteran 
Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 

A. C. 
Deserted Sept. 18, 1861 
Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 

A. C. 
Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 

A. C. 
Dis. Nov. 21, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Dis. July 31, 1861, dis- 

abiUty 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergeant 
Must, out May 30, 1865 
Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 

A. C. 
Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 

abihty 
Absent, sick at Must, out 
Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 

A. C. 
Trans, to H'dqu'tr.^^ 14th 

A. C. 
Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14tli 

A. C. 



Thk Nineteenth Illinois 

C'OMI'ANY F— Contiiuii'd. 



NAMK AND RANK. 



RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



I'nder Cook. 
Hcbly, Greon 



Skucjkants. 
Downs, Hylan A. Chicago 
IVazicr, Alex. M. 
Saumlons, X. H. " 

S<>;il)oni, Frank 
While, Lyman A. 

Corporals. 
Bennett, Benj. " 

Dodge. Clark E. " 

l-arr, Henry 

North, Clement M. " 
I'ercing, .\brah. 
Porter. Alpli. M. 
Heed, liinmi A. 
i'liornton, Henry .J. 

I*KIV.\TKS. 

Ailams, Henry 
Adams, Wm. (I. 
.\shburn, Kobt. 
.\sliby, Chauncej 
Hise, Wm. R. 
Hratslrain, C. M 
Urown, Western 
( 'hristian, .Jas. 
( 'ollin. Keiil). F. 
< 'ro.s.sly, Jas. 
' roiineh, C.eo. \\ 
I ),i\vson, 'I'lios. II 
I )iiili:mi. \\ ni. S 



St. Loui.- 



Chicago 
St. Louis 
Chieago 
Palmyra, 
Chieago 



Mar. 3, ISO:^ 
COMPANY G. 

June 21, LS()1 
July 6, 1861 
June 21, 1861 
July 15, 1861 
June 21, 1S61 

. July 14, 1861 
July 2, 1861 
July 1.5, 1861 

July 6, 1861 

u 

July 1.5, 1861 
July .5. 1861 

Julv ;u, IStU 



.luly ."), 1861 
July 31, 1861 
July 3, 1861 
Mo. July 20, 1861 
July 5, 1861 
July 10, 1861 
July 11, 1861 
July 31, 1861 
July 4, 1861 
July 15, 1861 



Died at Chattanooga 
Mar. 1, 1864 



Trans, to Co. E 
Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 

Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to liridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to liridges' Bat'ry 



Trans 
Tran.'^ 



to Bridges' Bat'ry 
to Bridges' Bat'ry 



Trans, to Bridges' 
Trans, to Bridges' 
Trans, to Bridges' 
Trans, to liridges' 
Trans, to Bridges' 
Trans, to Bridges' 
Trans, to Bridges' 
Trans, to Bridges' 
Trans, to Co. E 
Trans, to Bridges' 



Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 

Bat'rv 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company G — Continued. 



Ill 



NAME AND RANK. 



RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



Privates. 

Dick, Thomas St . Louis 
Ellis, Geo. E. 

Fairburn, Wm. Chicago 
Field, Thos. H. 
Fletcher, Robt . F. " 

Galligan, Dennis " 

Gentil, John P. 
Gibbs, Joel 

Haas, John Chicago 

Holting, Isaac H. St. Louis 

Hopewell, Henry Chicago 
Hubbard, Davis K. " 
Lindsay, Jas. " 

Lyons, John 
Malcolm, Wm. J. 

Maxwell, Jas. St. Louis 

Mayhew, Prosper Chicago 
McCormack, Jas. 
McDermot, Pat. 

McMullen, J. B. St. Louis 

Meyers, David Chicago 
Miller, Henry F. 

Morris, George St. Louis 
Moore, Jas. F. " 

Mumford, Jerem. " 

Mumford, Ross " 

Noble, David Chicago 

O'Buck, Wm. St. Louis 
Osburn Robt. " 

Patterson, Wm. Chicago 
Piers, Charles " 

Rice, Wm. H. St. Louis 
Sealock, Steph. O. " 

Seymour, T. H. 

Showers, Caleb Chicago 



July 29, 1861 
July 30, 1861 
July 20, 1861 
July 15, 1861 
July 22, 1861 
July 6, 1861 
July 14, 1861 
July 31, 1861 
July 14, 1861 
July 31, 1861 
July 6, 1861 
July 22, 1861 
July 15, 1861 
July 2, 1861 
July 5, 1861 
July 29, 1861 
July 15, 1861 

July 30, 1861 
July 31, 1861 
July 14, 1861 
July 11, 1861 
July 30, 1861 
July 31, 1861 



July 15, 1861 
July 30, 1861 
July 31, 1861 
July 29, 1861 
July 15, 1861 
July 31, 1861 
July 30, 1861 
July 15, 1861 
July 10, 1861 



Trans, to Bridges' But'ry 



Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 
Trans. 



to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Co. E 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Co. E 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 
to Bridges' 



Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 

Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 

Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 
Bat'ry 



Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 
Trans, to Bridges' Bat'ry 



112 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company G — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. 


RESIDENCE. 


ENLISTED. 


REMARKS. 




PinVATK.s. 










Smith. Banu'v, M. 


Chicago 


July lo, 1801 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Spaiilding, D. L. 




July 21, 1861 






V^pringcr, Lt'vvis C. 


(( 


July 14, 18G1 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Stahl, Henry 


" 


July Ir,, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Stanley, Rich. H. 


" 


•' 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Stewart, Jas. H. 






Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Taylor, Alf. M. 


Chicago 


July 10, 1S61 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Tennison, J. M. 


•• 




Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


'Ponies, John C. 


'•• 


July 15, 1861 






Tracey, Wni. 


St. Louis 


July 31, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Wallace, H. S. 




July 15, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Waltman, Martin 


Chicago 


" 


Trans, to liridges' 


Bat'ry 


Whitley, John D. 


St. Louis 


July 31, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Whitley, Win. K. 


"■ 


" 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Ziep;enfuss, M. 


Chicago 


July 12, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Recruits. 










Barnes, Ham'tn 


Chicago 


June 21, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


I^illing.s, John 


Bird's Point 


Aug. 5, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Bracket, Chas. C. 


Chicago 


June 21, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Bnchannan, R. 


" 


Oct. 19, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Cooper, Cha.s. 


■• 


Oct. 12, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Crawley, Mich. 


" 


Oct. 12, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Crosby, Win. 


" 


11 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Davi.s, Wm. H. 






Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Deal, Geo. H. 


" 


Sept. 30, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


DrewerN', ^^'nl. 


'• 


Oct. 29, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Ford, Lawrence 


" 


July 15, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Gallagher, Ja.'^. 


!• 


Oct. 19, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Gilli.spie, Mart. 


" 


" 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Hammond, N. K. 




Sept. 28, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Ha.stings, Ed. 




Oct. 3, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Hays, Michael 


v 


Oct. 4, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges" 


Bat'iy 


Hogle, James 






Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Holmes, Edwin 


" 


Oct. 19, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'iy 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company G— rontinucd. 



113 



NAME AND RANK. 


residence. 


enlisted. 


remarks. 




Recruits. 










Holmes, Myron 


Chicago 


Oct. 1, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


La\v]-ence, L. C. 


(( 


Oct. 15, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Luce, Wm. C. 


Mohne 








Maguire, Martin 


Chicago 


Nov. 12, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Martin, Sam. W. 






Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


McGuire, John 






Trans, to Co. H 




McLaughlin, J. T. 


Chicago 


Oct. 14, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


McVay, Michael 


" 


Oct. 19, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Miller, Wm. S. 




Oct. 11, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Moshier, Steph. H. 


'' 


Nov. 8, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Otto, Robt. M. 


" 


Apr. 2, 1862 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Robinson, Frank. 


u 


July 23, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


Tucker, Francis 




Oct. 19, 1861 






Weaver, Jas. B. 




" 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 


White, Wm. P. 


" 


Oct. 1, 1861 


Trans, to Bridges' 


Bat'ry 




COMPANY H. 






Sergeants. 










Babcock, Wm. H. 


MoUne 


June 17, 1861 


Dis. Mar. 5, 1862 for 








promotion 




Johnson, V. C. 


Geneseo 


If 


Prom, to 2d Lieut 




Mapes, L. B. 


Moline 


(( 


Dis. June 22, 1861 as 
Private, disabiUty 


Sickles, Horace H. 


li 


it 


Dis. Apr. 13, 1862 di.s- 








abihty 




Wood, Wellington 


u 


tt 


Prom, to 2d Lieut. 



Wood, Welhngtou 


(( 


Corporals. 




Beers, Benj. F. 


Moline 


Deidrick, John 


Geneseo 


Devinney, J. W. 


Moline 


Gould, Melvin A. 


" 



Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Private 
Prom. 1st Sergt. and then 

to 1st Lieut. 
Dis. Feb. 2, 1864, as 

Sergt., disability 
Dis. Oct. 8, 1862 as 

Private, disability 



114 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company H — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. 



RESIDENCE. ENLISTED. 



Corporals. 
Maxhiun. Hosca (" 

Thonia.><, Llovd B. 



( Jcneseo 



Wlicclock. Kvr't 


Molino 


Wycoff, Cha.s. H. 


(iencseo 


Privates. 




.\rchibakl, Ed. 


La Salle 


.\ii(l('r.son, Lewis 


Veni 


Bell, HolxTt M. 


Port Byron 


licnliaiii, .loliii 


CJeneseo 



Benson, Nels. P. 


Moline 


Blanden, lyem. 


Gene.seo 


Blcakney, Lewis 


Orion 


Bluiidy, Thos. 


Moline 


BcTKstroni, S. 




Brown, Jos. (1. 


Andalusia 


Brown, Theo. M. 


Gene.spo 


Carson, Ainaziah 


Moline 


Christy, Win. 


(1 


Clay, .loliii P. 


\iula 


Coleman, Ja.s. V. 


Cleveland 


Collin.s, Geo. 


Davenport 



June 17, 1861 



Died in Andersonville 

Prison, May 13, 1864, 

Grave 1,061 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergeant 
Missing at Chickamauga 

Sept. 20, 1863 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. to enli.st in 4th U. S. 

Cavalry 
Died at Murfreesboro 
Mar. 4, 1862 of wounds 
received in battle of 
Stone River 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Detached 1st Lieut. U. 

S. C. T. 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Mar. 4, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergeant 
Dis. June 19, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Apr. 3, 1864 as 

Sergeant, disability 
Dis. Nov. 3, '63, wounds 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Sergt. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



115 



Company H — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. 


RESIDENCE. 


ENLISTED. 


REMARKS. 


Privates. 








Curtis, Thos. 


Geneseo 


June 17, 1861 


Dis. Apr. 28, 1862, dis- 
abiUty 


Decker, Wm. D. 


Rock Island 


(1 


Dis. Feb. 1, 1862, dis- 
ability 


English, Jas. W. 


Atkinson 


tt 


Trans, to Co. I 


Flemming, G. F. 


Geneseo 


11 


Trans, to Inv. Corps 
June 27, 1863 


Fuller, Charles 


MoUne 


tt 


Dis. Mar. 7, 1863, dis- 
ability 


Giles, C. D. 


It 


n 


Dis. Dec. 4, 1861, dis- 
ability 


Gregory, John 


Rock Island 


It 


Dis. Dec. 4, 1861, dis- 
ability 


Hagan, Fred. K. 


a 


tt 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Hagerty, Wm. 


Geneseo 


it 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Sergt. 


Harrington, S. 


(( 


It 


Must, out July 9, 1864. 
as Sergt. 


Hayes, Jos. P. 


Hampton 


It 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Hebbard, A. A. 


Moline 


tt 


Captured at Chickamau- 
ga Sept. 20, 1863 


Huey, John L. 


u 


It 


Dis. Feb. 19, 1864, dis- 
ability 


Johnson, J. F. P. 


11 


II 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Kernes, George 


It 


It 


Missing at Stone River 
Dec. 31, 1862 


Kernes, Jas. 


Cambridge 


u 


Dis. Oct. 31, 1861, dis- 
ability 


Lander, Robt. 


Geneseo 


" 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Larson, Lars. 


Mohne 


II 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


LawTence, Chas. 


Geneseo 


II 


Killed at Chickamauga 
Sept. 20, 1863 


Lindsay, John 


Camden Mills 


11 


Hon. Dis. July 29, 1862 


Llewellyn, B. 


Rock Island 


" 


Must, out July 9, 1864 



Hi 



The Nineteenth Illinois 
Company H — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. ENLISTED. 



Privates. 

Lufo, Win. v. Hampton 

MaiH».s, Homy K. Moliiic 
Maxwell, ( ul. L. 
Maxwell, Jes.'^e Cordova 

MrChire, Henry T. 
M(d\ee, John 



.Tune 1 7, 1861 



McKinzie, .John 
McMahan, .John 

Meade, (Jeor^e 



Mereer, .lolin 

Mitchell. U. H. 
Morris, Chas. H. 
Nelson, Peter 

Nixon, James 
Paynp, Jerem. 

Peterson, Fr. 
Pettifer, Wm. 
Post, Jas. L. 
I'yper, Lysan. H. 



Moline 

Allamakee 
Moline 



Hampton 

Uock Island 
Moline 



(Jeneseo 
Haini)t()ii 

(Jene-seo 
Moline 
('amhii(lfi(> 
Moline 



|{ansom. Win. S. " 

Hathhurii, lien. W . Cordova 



Dis. Oct. 31, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Feb. 1, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Mar. 26, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Killed at Stone River 

Dec. 31, 1862 
Dis. to enlist in 4th U. S. 

Cavalry 
Detached as 2d Lieut. U. 

S. C. T. 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Trans. Inv. Corps Sept 

30, 1863 
Died in Andersonville 
Prison July 13, 1864, 
Grave 3,279 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Deserted June 26, 1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Aug. 6, 1862, disa- 
bility 
Deserted July 29, 1862 
Dis. July 21, 1862, dis- 

abiUty 
Must, out July 9, 1S()4 
Trans, to Inv. Corps 
Deserted June 29, 1862 
Dis. July 29, 1S62, dis- 

abdity 
Dis. Feb. 21, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1804 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company H— Continued. 



117- 



NAME AND RANK. 


RESIDENCE. 


ENLISTED. 


. REMARKS. 


Privates. 








Sadler, R. H. 


Grion 


June 17, 1861 


Dis. Mar. 26, 1862, dis- 
ability 


Samuels, Chas. F. 


Moline 


li 


Must, out July 9, ISlil 


Satsrom, Adol. 


Geneseo 


(( 


Trans, to Inv. Corps 


Shepard, AK. 


Rock Island Co 


il 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Smith, Chas. E. 


Geneseo 


It 


Dis. Aug. 5, 1861, sent C. 
M. 


Snyder, J. H. 


(( 


^^ 


Trans. Inv. Corps Feb. 
27, 1864 


Stone, Albert 


Allamakee 


" 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Stoughton, M. 


Moline 




Trans. Inv. Corps Feb. 
8, 186.3 


Stumer, Wm. 


" 


" 


Dis. Feb. 25, 1864 


Suter, Josiah 


Rock Island 




Dis. June 18, 1863, 
wounds 


Thompson, D. W. 


Moline 


"■ 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Thompson, G. G. 


Cleveland 




Dis. July 18, 1863, dis- 
abiUty 


Townley, Robt. 


Geneseo 




Dis. Oct. 20, 1863, dis- 
ability 


Tuttie, Frank 


Geneseo 


u 


Dis. Feb. 1, 1862, dis- 
ability 


Van Order, Cj^pr. 


li 


il 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Walsh, Wm. L. 


u 


a 


Dis. Oct. 16, 1863 as 
Sergt., disabiUty 


Waner, Peter 


Moline 


li 


Must, out July 9, 1864 


Ward, Robt. 


Rock Island 


" 


Trans, to Co. A 


WeUs, Henri E. 


>i 




Dis. Feb. 9, 1863 of 
wounds received Stone 
River 


Wheelock, T. D. 


Moline 


^' 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Corporal 


Witherill, M. 


(C 


11 


Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Corporal 



•118 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company H — Continued, 



NAME AND RANK. 


RESIDENCE. 


ENLISTED. 


remarks. 


Privates. 








Willciihcrncr, H. 


Gene-seo 


.June 17, l.Sdl 


Dis. Feb. 18, 1863, dis- 
ability 


\V(.(..l, Will. H. 


.\leflo 


(( 


Died at Na.shville Xov. 
23, 1862 


^'()UIl^, Dan. K. 


Hampton 


II 


Died in Ohio Oct. 4, 1861 


\ Oiinn, Saml. 


.Molinc 


n 


Died at Nashville Mar. 
4, 1863 


Recruits. 








Bates, Cha.s. G. 




.\ug. 27, 1862 


Trans, to H'dqu'tr.s 14th 
A. C. 


Blcakney, J. G. 


Orion 


Aug. 3, 1861 


Trans, to H'dqu'tns 14th 
A. C. 


Brewster, C. G. 


Peru 


July o, 1861 


Trans, to Gen. Steedman 


Brown, Henry I- 


Moline 


Nov. 23, 1861 


Deserted Mar. 31, 1862 


Carson, Jas. W. 




Dec. 3, 1861 


Absent, sick at Must, out 


Cobb, William 




June 29, 1861 


Dis. Dec. 4, 1861, dis- 
abihty 


Dickenson, R. E. 


Prophet stown 


July 10, 1861 


Turned over for transfer 


Gibbs, Webs. C. 




June 4, 1863 


Trans, to Gen. Steedman 


Gustafson, C 


Moline 


June 29, 1861 


Dis. Apr. 13, 1862, di.s- 
ability 


Hawthorne, W. P. 


Colona 


June 30, 1861 


Must, out July 9, 1861 


Magiiire, .John 


Chicago 


Nov. 12, 1861 


Turned over for transfer 


Rhodes, Hiram 




Oct. 14, 1862 


Must, out July 27, 1865 


Ryan, Thos. V. 


Chicago 


Mar. 20, 1862 


Deserted Mar. 19, 1863 


Sickles, Geo. H. 


Moline 


Sept. 2.5, 1861 


On detached duty at 
Must, out 


Van Orden, .\. 




Oct. 14, 1862 


Turned over for transfer 


William.s, J. A. 


Mitchell. Ind. 


Sept. 28, 1861 


Died at Nashville Jan. 
15, 1863 


Youngs, John Y. 




June 4, 1863 


Died at Nashville Sept. 
1, 18(i3 


Under Cook. 








Brown, .hilin 




Mar. 3. 18(i3 


Turned over for 1i-:insfer 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

COMPANY I. 



119 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Sergeants. 
Camphouse, W. 

French, Thos. J. 

Morehouse, D. B. 
Pittman, Wm. 

Schlosser, Con. 

Corporals. 
Cowden, Har. 

Ingraham, J. 

Lyons, R. M. 

Simons, H. 

Privates. 
Allison, Isaac S. 
Anton, Nich. 
Archer, E. A. 

Barras, Henry 

Barton, John R. 

Bartholow, R. L. 
Beardsley, H. 

Bird, Jesse W. 

Brown, John 



Galena June 17, 1861 Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Private 
" Dis. July 29, 1861, dis- 

ability 
" " Prom, to 2d Lieut. 

" Dis. Feb. 25, 1862, dis- 

ability 
" " Died at Chicago July 4, 

1864 

Bellevue, la. " Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Private 
Galena " Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 

1861 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as 1st Sergt. 
Sergt., died at Murfrees- 
boro Apr. 29, 1863 

Bellevue, la. " Deserted 

Galena " Must, out July 9, 1864 

Dunleith " Dis. July 2, 1861, dis- 

abiUty 

Galena " Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 

1861 
Corp., died Oct. 10, 1863 
of wounds received at 
Chickamauga 
Deserted Aug. 1, 1861 

Bellevue, la. " Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 

Galena " Dis. July 14, 1861, dis- 

ability 
" Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 

1861 



IJO 



Thk Nineteenth Illinois 

CuMi'AXV I — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



Pkivatks. 
Ho.ston, Jno. W 

CuiToll, Lawr. 

("aiioll, L. M. 

{'lark, Samuel 

Coleman, .Jacob 

Connor, Henry 

CraifT. Plios. 

CranuT, John 

Davis, Geo. W. 
Dcniken, Vic. 

Dennis, Henry 

Doeiinn, Hicli. 
l)<)iuiell\, .1. 
DoUf^las, .loliii 

Dowliiift, Steph. 
Franks, ,\n(l. 
l"rosl, \\\u. 

Foley, Mich. \ 
i'owler, Dan'l 
Fowler, I'. M. 

I'nN. l{i.ll .M. 



( ialena 



Bellevue, la. 



1 lanttver 
Hellevue, la 

Dunleilh 



June 17, ISO! Dis. Feb. 27, 1N(J3, dis- 
ability 
Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 

1861 
Trans, to Sig. Corp.s Oct. 

22, 1863 asScrgt. 
Killed on R. R. Sept. 17. 

1S()1 
Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 

1861 
Killed on H. R. Sept. 17, 

1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

:i.s Corporal 
Dis. Feb. 6, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Nov. 19, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Nov. 19. 1861, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9. 1864 
Deserted June 10, 1862 
Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 

1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 

18(il 
Missing Nov. 26, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 18(i4 
Killed on R. K. Sept. 17, 

1861 
Dis. to enlist in 4th U. S. 
Cav. Nov. 2.5, 18t)2 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company I — Continued. 



121 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



Privates . 

Galloway, Wm. Bellevue, la. 

Cland, John Cialena 

Harmes, Henry " 

Harwick, Ja.s. " 

Hogan, W. F. 

Irvine, Saml. C. " 

Jones, Lyman M. Bellevue, la. 

Lamb, Thos. Galena 

Lesh, James " 

Lcinberger, Eug. '' 

Longhorn, Jas. " 

Matt, Joseph " 

Maloney, Mich. " 

Mensel, Fred. " 

Metzger, John 

Michael, J. M. 
Morrisey, John " 

Morrison, Thos. " 

Noble, Wm. T. 

Nolan, Robert *' 

Painter, Alb. H. Dunleilli. 

Palmer, H. H. Galena 

Petree, John " 

Rhea, C. H. Bellevue, Li. 



June 17, 1861 



Trans, to Sig. C^orps Oct. 

22, 186:^ 

Wagoner, Must, out July 

9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. to enlist in 4th U. S. 

Cav. Nov. 25, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Di.s. June 14, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Died at Nashville Oct. 4, 

1862 
Dis. Aug. 9, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Aug. 26, 1861 
Prom, to 1st Lieut. 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Missing Oct. 31, 1862 
Died at Nashville, July 

23, 1862 

Dis. Nov. 11, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Died at Nashville Feb. 

22, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 

1861 
Must, out July 9, 18()4 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Sergt. 



122 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



Company 1 — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



Pkivatk.'^. 
Ripiii, Alforil Cialeiia 

Roffnor. Antli. 

Si'liomorhorn, C. 
Scholtz, Chiis. " 

Smith, Ju.soph 

Smitli, Win. C. " 

Snyder, Dan. " 

Sticif, Henry " 

Thorp, Win. D. " 

Tyler, I'. P. 

Nickers, Wni. H. " 

W aldner, Chris. 

Walker, .\hrani. 

W alker, Rich. 

W aulthour, D. li. 

W eppo, Wm. " 

\\ einshornor, H. " 

W lis.in. .lohn " 

W interstein. Mil. 

\\ irtii. .\umistus 



June 17, 18t)l Dis. to enlist in 4th U. 8. 
Cav. Nov. 25, 1862 
" Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 

1861 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Dis. Mar. 17, 1863, dis- 
abihty 

KiUed on R. R. Sept. 17, 
1861 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Corporal 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Corporal 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

Dis. Aug. 7, 1862, dis- 
ability 

Dis. Nov. 19, 1861, dis- 
ability 

Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 
ability 
" Died at Louisville Feb. 

3. 1862 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Deserted Jan. 6, 1862 

Dis. Dec. 4, 1861, dis- 
ability 

Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, dis- 
ability 

Dis. Aug. 1, 1861, dis- 
ability 

Dis. Nov. 5, 1861, dis- 
ability 

Dis. Nov. 19, 1861, dis- 
ability 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company I — Continued. 



123 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



Veteran. 






Breachei', Jacob 


Chicago 


Dec. 24, 1863 


Recruits. 






Baldwin, J. H. 


Galena 


Oct. 2, 1861 


Barnhart, John 


t( 


Oct. 22, 1861 


Breacher, Jac. 


Chicago 


Dec. 10, 1861 


Breizen, Julius 


(( 


July 5, 1861 


Bruce, And. J. 


Galena 


Oct. 22, 1861 


Bruce, Robt. 


u 


July 3, 1861 


Cook, Chas. 


It 


Oct. 1, 1861 


Cookson, J. S. 


It 


Oct. 2, 1861 


Connelly, Mich. 


it 


July 5, 1861 


Dawson, Jas. W. 


" 


July 2, 1861 


Ellis, Emanuel 


(< 


Oct. 1, 1862 


English, Jas. 


Atkinson 




Gilmore, Wm. 


Galena 


July 1, 1861 


Glock, John 


Chicago 


Dec. 10, 1861 


Hardy, Frank 


Galena 


July 5, 1861 


Heath, Chas. G. 


Chicago 


Oct. 6, 1861 


Hewitt, Isaac 




Nov. 29, 1862 


Honyer, Leop. 


Galena 


July 4, 1861 


Keenan, Frank 


" 





Dis. Sept. 13, 1862, di,s- 
abilitA^ 

Died at Louisville Jan 
10, 1862 

Re-enlisted as Veteran 

Dis. May 24, 1862 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 

Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 
1861 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 

Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 
1861 

Dis. Nov. 29, 1861, dis- 
ability 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 

Dis. July 31, 1862, dis- 
ability 

Deserted Aug. 2, 1862 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 

Dis. Aug. 7, 1862, dis- 
ability 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
Army Corps 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Deserted Aug. 6, 1861 



124 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

CuMi'ANV I — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



Privates. 

Koley, Earnest Galena 

McDowell, S. H. Chicago 

McManners, Thcs. Clalcna 
I'lean, Chris. " 



Oct. 3, 1861 

Nov. IS. ISC)! 
.Iiilv 4, ism 



(Juinn, Cha.s. 
Rliino, John 
Ringer, Wni. 
Scott, Henry P. 
.Speck, Angus. 
Stacy, Wm. 
Thistlewaite, C. 
Trittean, John 
\'incen(, Wni. 



Murfrecsboro 
Galena 



Chicago 
Galena 



Chicago 



Walker, Henry H. Cialena 
\\ inser, Henry " 



Sergeants. 
Dorsi'v. 1*'.<1. \V. Chicago 

Eckert,Geo. 

LanilxT.son, C. \'. Cook Co. 



Apr. 4, 1SG2 

July 5, 18(jl 

July 1, lS(il 
Nov. 7, 1S61 

July .5, 1861 

July 7, 1S()2 

Oct. 1, 1S61 

Nov. 8, 1861 
Oct. 3, 1861 

COMPANY K. 

.June 17, 1861 

July ;l(), 1S61 



Dis. Apr. 12, 1863, dis- 
ability 

Prom, to Sergt. Major. 

Deserted Aug. 1, 1861 

Dis. Nov. 9, 1861, dis- 
abihty 

Dis. Nov. 9, 1862, dis- 
ability 

Died Oct. 17, 1861, of in- 
juries in R. R. accident 

Killed on R. R. Sept. 17, 
1861 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
A. C. 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
A. C. 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
A. C. 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
A. C. 

Killed at Stone River 
Dec. 31, 1862 

Died at Ehzabethtown 
Feb. 25, 1862 

Must, out July 9, 1864 

Trans, to H'dqu'trs 14th 
A. C. 



Dis. Dec. 1.5, 1862, dis- 
ability 

Dis. Mar. 16, 1862 as 1st 
Sergt., disability 

Pronj. to 2<1 Lieut. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 
Company K — Continued. 



125 



NAME AND RANK. 



RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Sergeants . 
Fletcher, H. B. 

Hare, Wm. E. 

Corporals. 
Ambrose, R. L. 

Bell, Geo. R. 

Cunningham, W. 

Ploffman, F. J. 
James, John T. 

Johnson, Jos. S. 

McConnell, J. D. 

Scadin, S. H. 

Musicians. 
Campbell, G. C. 

Reilly, John 
Priv,\tes. 
Austin, John H. 
Bell, V. B. 

Bcnshel, And. 
Berlence, Chas. 
Black, John 
Boig, Jos. J. 
Borgus, Arthur 



Chicago June 17, 1861 Must, out July 9, 1861 

as Private 
" " Must, out July 9, 1861 

as Private 

Dis. June 4, 1863, dis- 
ability 

Dis. July 22, 1861, dis- 
ability 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Private 

Deserted June 17, 1861 
" " Died at Quincy Sept. 3, 

1861 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as 1st Sergt. 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt. 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
as Private 



Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Private 
Deserted July 15, 1862 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
Prom. Corp., Sergt., Maj. 

and 2d Lieut. 
Deserted July 16, 1862 
Deserted July 12, 1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Deserted June 1, 1862 
Dis. Apr. 25, 1863, dis- 
ability 



V2{\ 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Tom PAN Y K — Continued. 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



REMARKS. 



Privates. 

Howie, Bank.s 
Howie. Stepli. 

Hreslaiicr, M. 
Hnsli, Hiram 
liutler, Wm. 
IJrinknian, (lust us 
Carney, Mich. 
Christian, Wni. H. 
Clark, Lyman 

Cobb, Joseph 
Cunningham, Jas. 
Dwycr, Jus. A. 
Fenton, James 

Ferrers, Chas. 

Ferrers, CJeo. 
Fitzgibbon, Wm. 
Fullerton, Jas. C. 



Crady, Robt. 
Criffin, Dan. W 

Gj'er, John 
Hanna, J. S. 

Heller, Albert 
Herricks, Chas. 

Hettich, Chas. 
Hifigins, Chas. 



Chicago 



June 17, 1861 



Deserted Aug. 5, 1862 
Dis. Mar. 16, 1862, dis- 

abilitj' 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Prom, to Com'sy Sergt. 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Died at Murfreesboro 

Apr. 14, 1863 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Aug. 8, 1861 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal. 

Trans, to V. R. C. Sept. 

15, 18(W 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Died Jan. 2, 1863 of 
wounds received at 
Stone River 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Killed at Stone River 

Dec. 30, 1862 
Mu.st. out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Aug. 12, 1862, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Dec. 16, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9. 1S64 
Killed at Chicago Oct. 

16, 1861 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company K — Continued. 



127 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



Privates. 
Higginson, Henry Chicago 
Holman, Wm. E. 
Johnson, Thos. " 

Jones, Isaac 
Kenney, Jas. 
Kent, Charles " 

Kipp, Wm. H. 

Lad wick, Chas. " 

Lang, Emanuel " 

McCarthy, John " 

McDonald, Patrick 

Meeker, Jas. D. " 

Merrifield, J. M. 

Metz, Louis " 

Metz, Wm. " 

Miller, Mich. L. " 

Newton, John B. " ' 

Paris, August " 

Pemberton, Thos. " 

Pemberton, Geo. " 

Periolet, Robt. 
Potter, Wm. ' " 

Reilly, John 

Russell, Jos. F. " 



June 17, 1861 Must, out July 9, 1864 
Deserted Mar. 17, 1862 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

" Dis. Aug. 8, 1861 

" Dis. Aug. 8, 1861 

" Must, out July 9, 1864 

" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
" Dis. Feb. 9, 1863, dis- 

ability 
" Dis. Mar. 1, 1864, dis- 

ability 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt. 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt. 
Deserted Feb. 20, 1863 
" Dis. Nov. 26, 1861, dis- 

ability 
" Died June 24, 1864 

" Must, out July 9, 1864 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Sergt. 
" Dis. Apr. 20, 1862 

" Killed at Chickamauga 

Sept. 20, 1863 
" Dis. Apr. 20, 1862 

" Must, out July 9, 1864 

" Must, out July 9, 1864 

" On detached service at 

Must, out 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 



12S 



Thp: Nineteenth Illinois 

CoMi'ANV K — Continued. 



NAME AND BANK. RESIDENCE. 



ENLISTED. 



I'UIVATKS. 

Scott. .John 

Sini|)s()n, .Knd. 

Shepherd, V. H. 
Smith, Cieorge 
Smith, Jame.'*, 
Smith, Peter 
Stark, Cha.s. 
Stephen, John 

Stone, Xeri 

Swart z, Henry 
Uethman, CJerh. 
\'oiee, John 
Wagner, Geo. C. 
Walden, Ja.s. D. 
\\ ahers, John M. 
\\ eir, Robert 
wells, Ealon .\. 

Wright, Chas. 

.^'^:TERAN. 

Stark, Chailes 

RKfRllTS. 

Anderson, Thos. 



Avers, Ch.-is. S. 

Heecherl, ( leo. 
iieiderman, J. li. 



Chieago June 17. iStU Dis. May 2S, LS02, dis- 

ability 
" Kille<i near Pulaski, Tenn. 

Aug. 10, 1S(V2 
Must, out May :!(), lS(i4 
Must, out July 9, 1S64 
Must, out July 5», 1S()4 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
" Re-enlisted as \'eteran 

" Must, out July 9, 1S04 

as Scrgt. 
" Must, out July 9, LS64 

as Corporal 
" Must, out July 9, 1864 

" Must, out July 9, 1864 

Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
De.serted Dee. 20, 1862 
Dis. July 28, 1S(V2 
Dis. Mar. 16, 1863, di.s- 

ability 
Must, out Oet. 19. 1S64 

Dee, 21, lS(i:} Must, out July 6, 186.") 



Oct. S, 1861 



M;iv 22, 186:? 



Died at Andersonvillc 
Pri.son Aug. 24, 18()4, 
Grave 6,710 

Dis. Nov. 2.5, 1861, dis- 
ability 

Turned over for transfer 

Mast, out July 9, 1864 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

Company K — Continued. 



129 



NAME AND RANK. RESIDENCE. 



REMARKS. 



Privates. 

BuUcn, Edgar M. Chicago 

Bunce, Wm. H. " 

Carney, Lumas " 

Colgrove, Geo. Waukegan 

Crocker, Crafton Chicago 
Drake, Jos. A. 

DriscoU, Corn. " 



Gilbert, Wm. H. 
Gunn, Henry 

Gunn, Chancey 

Hoff, John A. 

Hoyt, John M. 
Johnson, Fred'k 

Lewis, Henry 
Morgan, Chas. 
O'Leary, Arthur 
Randolph, Ab. N. 
Reed, Jerry 
Sparr, Martin 
Stoughton, H. D. 

Tincholen, 8am. H. 



Wells, Joseph 
Wythe, Walter W. 
Under Cooks. 
James, John 



Waukegan 



Chicago 



Nov. 1, isn 



Dec. 8, 1861 
Oct. 8, 1861 



Oct. 8, 1861 
Nov. 1, 1861 

Oct. 8, 1861 

June 18, 1861 



Nov. 1, 1861 
Apr. 5, 1862 



May 22, 1863 
Oct. 8, 1861 



Apr. 13, 1863 



Died Feb. 3, 1863 of 

wounds 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

Trans, to Gen. Steadman 
Deserted Sept. 11, 1861 
Dis. Feb. 2.5, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Dis. Mar. 31, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Trans, to Co. A 
Dis. Feb. 15, 1863, dis- 
ability 
Missing since action at 

Manchester, Tenn. 
Dis. Nov. 26, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Dis. Nov. 26, 1861, dis- 
ability 
Turned over for transfer 
Turned over for transfer 
Turned over for transfer 
Must, out July 9, 1864 
Turned over for transfer 
Deserted July 1.5, 1862 
Must, out July 9, 1864 

as Corporal 
Died in Andersonville 
Prison June 26, 1864, 
Grave 2,502 
Turned over for transfer 
Must, out July 9, 1864 



Oct. 11, 1863 Turned over for transfe 



VM) 



The Nineteenth I Illinois 

Company K — Continued. 



NAME AND KANK. 



RESIDENCE. 



UEM.\RKS. 



Under Cooks. 
McCullounh. Win. 



Miir. 3, lS(i3 'ruined over for transfer 



UNASSIGNED RECRUITS. 



Alexander, .las. 


Chie! 


[IgO 


Dec. 24, 1863 


FcninKton, Chas. 


'• 




Dec. 13, 1862 


Hays, Edward 


(1 




Jan. 12, 1864 


Hunter, Benj. D. 


Peor 


ia 


Nov. 5, 1863 


.lones, Jas. H. 


Chie; 


ago 


Jan. 12, 18()4 


Kinfi, (Jcorfie 


" 




Jan. 9, 1864 


Lew, Mieliael 


" 




Feb. 15, 1864 


Monaghan, John 


it 




Jan. 14, 1864 


Moris-sette, A. 


" 




Feb. 2, 1864 


Myers, John 


tt 




Jan. 18, 1864 


O'Leary, Jas. 


" 




Jan. 26, 1864 


Roberts, Hubbanl 


<( 




Dec. 23, 1863 


Sin^ieton, Robt. 


II 




Dec. 14, 1863 


White, John 


11 




Sept. 27, 1862 



Deserted Dec. 2!), 1S63 



The Nineteenth Illinois 131 

OUR REGIMENTAL LEADERS. 

Thus far for the rank and file, by companies; those who 
commanded the Regiment are still to be accounted for in 
these pages. We owe it to our two Colonels and our Lieu- 
tenant Colonel to give them all possible honor, other than 
they will receive from time to time, in this work. First of all 
comes John Basil Turchin (his native name was Turchinoff). 
who was born in the Valley of the Don, Empire of Rus- 
sia, January 18, 1822. At the age of fourteen he attended 
the Imperial Military School at St. Petersburg, where he 
obtained the rudiments of an education for officers. After 
graduating he received a Lieutenant's commission in the 
Czar's Army, where his talents soon gained him promotion, 
and he was raised to the rank of Captain on the General 
Staff. Then he returned to the Imperial Military School 
and remained there three years, finishing the theoretical 
part of his education. At the beginning of the Crimean 
War he received an appointment on the staff of the Crown 
Prince (afterward Alexander II, Emperor of Russia), a 
rank corresponding in our service to that of Assistant Adju- 
tant General of a Corps Commander. The plan adopted 
for the defenses of the coast of Finland was prepared by 
Captain Turchinoff, and to him was intrusted the superin- 
tendence of their construction. They were considered 
among the most elaborate and scientific specimens of mili- 
tary engineering in Europe at that time. 

Having imbibed democratic ideas at an early age, Tur- 
chin now found himself impelled to go to America and, 
managing to quit Russia, he came to the United States in 
1856, to soon find employment in the engineering depart- 
ment of the Illinois Central Railroad, a corporation which 
furnished several Generals to the Union service, notably 
McClellan, Burnside, Banks, and Turchin. For, when 



132 The Nineteenth Illinois 

lluit war broke out for the defense of those same ideas which 
led liini to abandon his Fathorhmd, Turchin made known his 
desire to enhst in the Union cause, and was thereupon com- 
missioned Colonel of the Nineteenth Illinois, destined to 
become "one of the best drilled, most marched, heaviest 
battlo-scari-od regiments that over sustained the honor of 
Illinois in the field. While still in camp at Chicago, it had 
become celebrated for its excellence of drill and esprit de 
corps. Colonel Turchin gave to it his constant personal 
attention and inspection, and was ever vigilant and unwear- 
ied in making it a model regiment. He led it through many 
hard, wearisome marches and in numerous skirmishes and 
combats, all of which early made its name of Nineteenth the 
synonym of success."* Turchin wa^ om* commander in 
Missouri; through Kentucky; on the march to Nashville, 
Tennessee; on the swuft rush to Huntsville, Alabama, under 
O. ]\I. Alitchel; on the dash into Athens, Alabama, where 
his men were charged with misconduct and for this was 
court-martialed and the verdict was dismissal from the 
service. He at once returned to his home in Chicago, ac- 
companied by his wife (dear Madame Turchin! how^ we all 
respected, believed in, and came to love her for her bravery, 
gentleness and constant care of the sick and wounded in the 
Regiment), who had long shared his dangers and privations 
on the march and in the field, to be welcomed like a conquer- 
ing hero. Before the sentence of the Court Martial could 
be promulgated, the President of the United States had ap- 
pointed and commissioned Turchin as Brigadier Cleneral, 
whereupon he at once returned to the front, and was assigned 
to the command of a gallant brigade in the Army of the 
Cumberland. 

General Turchin was a man of medium stature and strong 

♦"Patrjotiam of Illinois." 



The Nineteenth Illinois 133 

frame, slightly inclined to corpulence, with a massive well- 
formed head, and a face full of intelligence. His counte- 
nance was expressive and genial; he possessed a delicate 
humor, but was inflexible in will and most decided in purpose. 
He was impulsive, full of energy, thought and acted quickly, 
and was rarely placed in any position where he could not 
muster resources to meet its emergencies. His constant 
conduct, after leaving the Nineteenth, was, as Brigade 
Commander of the noblest and bravest order, and he played 
an important and valorous part in the great Battle of Chick- 
amauga. Toward the end of our term of service, in May, 
1864, to be exact, wishing to show his abiding love for us 
he asked for, and secured, the transfer of the Regiment to 
the brigade he was then commanding. The exact time 
and the circumstances when and under which this transfer 
was carried out is given by Brigadier General Richard W. 
Johnson, commanding First Division, Fourteenth Aimy 
Corps. His report includes the division's operations from 
the opening of the Atlanta Campaign down to the thirteenth 
of June, 1864, at which period he was compelled by a disa- 
bility resulting from injuries received in action to turn over 
the command to Brigadier General King. Johnson says: 
"On the third of May, pursuant to instructions received 
from the Major General commanding the corps, I moved 
from Graysville, Georgia, to Ringgold, Georgia, leaving an 
outpost of two regiments, the Nineteenth Illinois Infantry 
and Twenty-fourth Illinois Infantry, at Parker's Gap, to 
hold that pass until the advance of the troops from the 
direction of Cleveland would cover it. On the day but one 
following, these regiments, having been relieved, were 
transferred to the Brigade of General Turchin, in the Third 
Division." 

At that time there were only fifteen officers and two 
hundred and thirty-nine men with the Regiment. Turchin 



134 The Nineteenth Illinois 

was our Biij^ado commander at the battle of Kesaca, and 
we remained with him mitil we reached Ackworth, where 
we left the front for "God's Country." General Turchin's 
life after the war was largely one of trials and tribulations, 
but he was ever honorable and hopeful, always a devoted 
friend to his old companions in arms, no matter what their 
rank and position in the service, a good Comrade, and a 
gentleman of the best make. 

Colonel Joseph R. Scott was one of Nature's noblemen, 
in every sense of the expression. He was generous, he was 
gallant, he was courageous, he was always ready and willing; 
he was among the best beloved of all army officers. In 
character he was beautifully devoted to his adopted Country, 
to its Flag, and to those for whom he was so largely respon- 
sible. In personal appearance he was handsome, distin- 
guished, soldiery; his flashing dark eyes, his genial speech, 
his joyous laugh, his mobility of expression, his loyalty to 
the Regiment and devotion to its men, both rank and file, 
are but a few of the best things we shall ever cherish in hi? 
memory. We remember especially his valorous behavior 
on the skirmisli day, that is to say, the thirteenth of Decem- 
ber, of the battle of Stone River. Colonel "Joe" and the 
present writer were very close together on that occasion. 
The comjianies on the skirmish line were compelled to give 
up chasing rebels when we ran up against that brick-kiln 
gathering, and then we became the pursued in place of the 
pursuers. In the sudden fall back Colonel v^cott and the 
writer ran a "dead-heat," neither of us able to show his 
heels to the other, for something like thirty yards, and we 
dropped simultaneously behind two very large gateposts, 
glad to have a chance to catch our second wind and be 
protected at the same time. It is true the "Johnnies" 
stayed their progress in our dinn'tion before we reached 
the gate-posts; and in a very few moments the Nineteenth's 



The Nineteenth Illinois 135 

skirmishers were in line again; but as we look back on the 
incident now it seems more amusing than tragic, although 
it was that then in every particular. We remember that 
while thus hurriedly falling back the bullets from the enemy's 
muskets were so plentiful that their zizzing seemed like unto 
the buzzing of angry bees, and there was at least one sol- 
dier in that group of two w^ho turned up his overcoat collar 
as a protection to the "creatures" threatening to sting him 
badly. 

Colonel Scott was born in Canada in 1838, although he 
came to this country when he was only twelve years of age. 
In 1856 he began the formation of the National Guard Ca- 
dets, in Chicago, afterwards famous throughout America 
as the United States Zouaves. In the early progress of the 
organization, young Ellsworth came to Chicago, and Scott, 
finding in him a kindred spirit, pressed him to accept the 
Captaincy, while he served as Lieutenant. To this arrange- 
ment Ellsworth finally agreed, and little did either of these 
young gentlemen then suspect that both would lose their 
lives in war in the near future, both as real heroes, howsver, 
noble and gallant to an eminent degree. When Scott be- 
came our ranking officer at Springfield he was one of the 
youngest Colonels in the Union Army, not yet having 
reached his twenty-third year. It was when we were about 
to become a three-years' Regiment that Colonel ''Joe's" 
characteristic generosity again shone out; for though he 
was the choice of the Nineteenth, he voluntarily gave way to 
Turchin, and became second in command to that distin- 
guished Russian. In August, 1862, on the latter's promo- 
tion, Scott again became our Colonel, in which rank and office 
he continued to the time of his death. It was the Battle 
of Stone River, fought December 31, 1862, January 2 and 
3, 1863, which wove a garland of immortality for him, as we 



i:^*) The Nineteenth Illinois 

shall see when dealing with that engagement. In a memo- 
rable charge Colonel ''Joe" fell seriously wounded at the 
head of his column. As soon as possible he was taken to his 
home in Chicago, where he had all the help that surgical 
science and skillful treatment could afford, besides the care- 
ful nursing of his beloved and devoted wife, but all in vain. 
He died from the effects of his wound on the eighth of July, 
1863, and so the Union lost one of its most loyal and valorous 
soldiers. 

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander W. Raff en was born in 
Cupar, Fifeshire, not far from St. Andrew's Bay, Scotland. 
He was only a boy when he came to the United States in 
1849, and in 1853 he began business in Chicago as a plumber. 
In 1856 he, with several others, organized the Highland 
Guard, an independent military company, continued an 
active member of it, and at the breaking out of the Rebel- 
lion was its First Lieutenant. On Air. Lincoln's first call 
for troops he forsook a growing business to take up arms in 
defense of his adopted country and, as Captain of the High- 
land Guard, which organization soon became Company E, 
of Ours, began his military career. On the request of the 
officers of the Nineteenth he was promoted, on Scott's ad- 
vancement to the Colonelcy, to be Lieutenant Colonel, and 
when the latter fell he assumed command of the Regiment. 
This position of honor and responsibility he continued to hold 
until we were mustered out in July, 1864. Raffen had the 
unbounded confidence of his superior officers, and on several 
occasions was given duties which called for skill, courage and 
coolness; on all these occasions he performed the duties ex- 
pected of him to the entire satisfaction of his superiors and 
to Ihe lasting credit of the Regiment he connnanded. 



CHAPTER IV. 

PAGE 

Service in Missouri 139 

Moved to Cairo and Ordered to Washington . . . 143 
Railroad Accident. 

Ordered to Kentucky 146 

Company G Becomes Bridges' Battery 155 

Corporal Morehouse's First Experience with 

Picket Guard 156 

Gen. Geo. H. Thomas 160 

Occupation of Bowling Green 162 

Occupation of Nashville, Tenn 162 

Occupation of Murfreesboro 163 

March to and Capture of Huntsville, Ala. . . . 165 

Service in Alabama 166 



The Nineteenth Illinols 139 



CHAPTER IV. 

It seems now that our stay at Camp Long was a very 
protracted one, yet were we there only a Uttle more than a 
month — but in the meantime : From the start Turchin and 
Scott made it clear to every member of the Regiment that 
Ours was to be the best in the service, if hard work could 
bring it about; and, helped by several officers and Sergeants 
who had belonged to the original Company of Ellsworth 
Zouaves and Highland Guards — the officers of other com- 
panies were also helpful — Colonel Turchin utilized those 
few weeks at Camp Long most efficiently. Indeed, he pur- 
sued his endeavors in that respect in future whenever the 
Nineteenth was not on the march or fighting, and finally 
succeeded in making it the best drilled battalion in all the 
Western forces. No wonder that the Inspector General 
of the Army of the Cumberland, in one of his official reports, 
should point to the Nineteenth Illinois as "an example to be 
followed by all the other regiments in the Union service." 

Brigadier General John Pope having been appointed to 
command troops in North Missouri, and Brigadier General 
Stephen A. Hurlbut to command troops in Northwestern 
Missouri under Pope, with headquarters at Quincy, Illinois, 
the Nineteenth received orders to at once move by rail and 
report to Hurlbut. The twelfth of July, 1861, the Regi- 
ment struck tents and, moving out of camp, marched to the 
railroad station in Chicago, whence, amidst touching scenes 
of parting cheers, waving of hats and flags, the men crowded 
on to the cars, the locomotives whistled, the people shouted 
their fond adieux, and so the Nineteenth started on its martial 



140 The Nineteenth Illinois 

caroor of three years of service, voluntarily, patriotieally. and 
gladly given to the Nation and to the (lovernnient. The 
next evening it anived at (^uincy, and on the fourteenth of 
July received orders from (leneral Hurlbut to relieve the 
Twenty-first Illinois, under Colonel T. S. (irant, posted 
along the Hannibal and St. Joe Railroad from opposite 
(^uincy to Palmyra, Missouri, and thence to Hannil)al in 
the same State. During several weeks of stay in that re- 
gion the Regiment, besides guarding important railroad 
Ijridges, made several expeditions to different points in the 
n(Mghb()i-hood, chased away newly organized Confederate 
companies, destroyed their barracks and provisions, obliged 
the citizens to give pledges not to support any more such 
organizations, encouraged formations of Home (luards at 
Palmyra and Newark, suppressed Secessionists, encouraged 
Unionists, and otherwise conducted itself in the best possible 
manner. 

Many incidents well worth recorcUng in these pages 
might be given. One morning the present writer was or- 
dered by the Orderly Sergeant of Company D to report to 
the Sergeant Major, a man who was always famous among 
the true sportsmen of America, "Uncle Bill" Curtis, of hon- 
orable memory. He passed through many battles unscathed 
during the war, lived a good and sober life in New York 
City until 1904, and then perished miserably in a blizzard 
on a mountainside in New Hami)shire. Curtis was found 
at head(iuarters and he said : "We will go out into the woods 
and see if we can gather in any game." The couple started 
ofT afoot, Curtis walking, the other man at a trot — it would 
have been impossible to keep up with him otherwise. He had 
been a noted athlete before the war, at one time holding the 
record as a weight-lifter; wearing a kind of harness, which 
heli)ed him some, he lifted nearly 3,000 pounds. He jilayed 



The Nineteenth Illinois 141 

with lOO-pound dumb bells with ease, was almost a cham- 
pion runner and walker, likewise a magnificent oarsman — 
in short a modern Sampson in every way. We kept to the 
road for two or three miles, then struck into the timber, to 
come presently to a farmhouse of goodly size. This he 
entered, posting the other man on watch; and presently 
reappeared to call the latter inside. A well-built farmer, 
two women and one child, all dressed in homespun garments, 
were in the wide hall expostulating with Curtis. He handed 
his ally a rifle, a horn of powder and a bag of newly cast 
bullets. Then he loaded himself with another gun, more 
ammunition, a stout sword and a small box. Bidding the fame 
ily good day, and warning the farmer to keep out of trouble- 
we departed for camp seven miles away. Before half the, 
distance had been tramped that heavy rifle was weighing 
hundreds of pounds, and by and by the Corporal could no 
longer keep up with the swift- walking Sergeant Major. 
Indeed only by running a scrambling gait was the former 
able to remain anywhere near the famous athlete. However, 
the couple reached camp together in course of time. More 
than a year after, when Curtis was Captain and Assistant 
Adjutant General on Turchin's staff, he laughingly admitted 
to the writer that he was ''trying out" his companion on 
that occasion in Missouri. 

"Was the old rifle worth the danger we incurred and the 
imposition on me?" Curtis was asked. 

"No," was the reply. "It was worth nothing at all. 
But it meant a great deal to me to find out what you were 
capable of when put to the test." 

Another incident of a personal nature may be mentioned. 
Before the Regiment left that locality the p resent writer was 
sent on horseback, as dispatch-bearer to a command sta- 
tioned eight or ten miles distance, with orders to hurry along. 
Galloping down as fair a road, bordered by trees and bushes, 



142 The Nineteenth Illinois 

as one could wish for, sucltlcnly the ridei- felt a sharp hot 
burn across his forehead, which was instantly followed by 
the sound of a gunshot. Tlien a bit of ))lood trickled into 
his right eye, and he knew that he had ))een fired on by a 
Missouri guerrilla. Had his horse been moving the merest 
trifle faster, the bullet would undoubtedly have ended that 
young soldier's army service then and there forever. 

At the end of July, 1861, the Nineteenth received orders 
to take boats at Hannibal and proceed by river to St. Louis, 
where we remained only a short time. There we were under 
command of Major Cleneral John C. Fremont, a man without 
genius, of talents and energy gi'eatly overrated, and who 
had boon put at the head of the Department of Missouri 
with highest anticipations. "Never was hope more cruelly 
deceived; a few weeks were enough to prove him vain, shal- 
low, and weak." We were in St. Louis long enough to see 
something of Fremont and his famous headquarters — a 
scene of pomp and circumstances, undoubtedly, but from 
whence no real deeds of war were ever ordered. About him 
rode the most showy body-guard of mounted "warriors" 
this country has ever seen. His staff was numerous, and in 
public, whatever it may have done indoors, it shone brightly 
in uniform richly gilded, even though its keen swords may 
never have been unsheathed in the face of danger. 

About the time Fremont reached St. Louis, from New 
York, the Confederate (xeneral Pillow moved a strong force 
to New Madrid, Missouri, a few miles below the junction 
of the Ohio and the Mississij)pi Rivers, and thus threatened 
Cairo, the strategic key to those streams. Our Regiment 
was sent with the force which Fremont hastened to Bird's 
Point, opposite Cairo, on the Missouri side. Six or eight regi- 
ments went to Pope, and as many more to Prentiss, swift 
enough, but Fremont utterly neglected the third and greatest 
point of danger — the safety of Lyon and his tlwindling force 



The Nineteenth Illinois 143 

ill Southwestern Missouri. On the Nineteenth's arrival 
at Bird's Point, it was immediately detailed to Norfolk, six 
miles further down the river, as an advanced guard, where 
our duties were both arduous and difficult. Then the infor- 
mation that a portion of Pillow's army was advancing with 
a view to capturing Ironton and the railroad originated 
another hurried expedition in which we participated. 

The fourteenth of August our small force left Norfolk, 
took boats at Bird's Point, went up the Mississippi, landed 
opposite Sulphur Springs Station, on the St. Louis and Iron- 
ton Railroad, and thence went by rail to Ironton, from which 
place, on the twenty-ninth of August, it moved as a part of 
an expedition under Brigadier General Prentiss, consisting 
of six regiments of infantry, one battery of artillery, and a 
squadron of calvary, towards Dallas and Jackson. Ap- 
proaching Dallas, where it was expected to meet the enemy, 
Prentiss instructed Colonel Turchin to move with his Reg- 
iment as an advance guard of the column, but no opposi- 
tion was encountered. The column stopped at Jackson, 
and on the eighth of September moved to Cape Girardeau, 
took boats there and went to Cairo. The Nineteenth was 
then ordered to cross to the Kentucky shore and go into 
camp. After staying there a few days we were sent, together 
with the Seventeenth Illinois, under Colonel L. F. Ross, 
down the stream to occupy Ellicot's Mills, twelve miles 
north of Columbus, on the Mississippi River. 
"^ While there the Regiment received orders to proceed to 
Washington, D. C. Going to Cairo by boat, we took the 
train September 16th, and if all had gone well the gallant 
Nineteenth would in all probability have soon been num- 
bered among McClellan's regiments down in old Virginia. 
At Sandoval on the seventeenth, we changed cars to a train 
on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad and proceeded on our 
way to Cincinnati. The instructions to the engineer were: 



144 TnK Nineteenth Illinois 

"You are to make as j^ood time as possible, witli due regard 
to safety." The train had been chvided into two seetions: 
the first carried Companies A, B, C, D, and F, with baggage 
and camp eciuipment ; the second consisted of Companies 
E, CI. H, I, and K, with the regimental staff; and it was in 
the early night of September 17, at about ten o'clock when a 
most awful accident occurred, one w^hich caused the Nine- 
teenth a loss in life nearly as great as any of the battles in 
which we fought during the w^hole of our term of service. 

About forty-six miles east of Vincennes, Indiana, the 
second train broke through the bridge and trestle No. 48, 
crossing Beaver Creek, between Shoals and Mitchel, and in 
that catastrophe twenty-four men, including a Captain, 
were killed on the spot, while no fewer than one hundred 
and five were more or less injured. Of these some died in 
the hospitals at Cincinnati soon afterward; others were 
crii)i)led for life; but there were those who recovered and 
joined the Regiment, to become among our best 
soldiers. The first section had passed over the trestle 
without trouble, but when the second section got to 
the bridge there was suddenly heard the awful crash of piled- 
up cars, and the loud shrieks of human beings in mortal 
agony. We lost, in killed and injured, within those few 
moments of awful railroad accident something like one hun- 
dred and thirty men, including Captain Bushrod B.Howard 
of Company I, the one company which suffered most, as it 
was in the car that first went down into the shallow stream, 
deep below. The first section quickly returned to the spot 
and its soldier-passengers were soon doing everything pos- 
sible for their suffering comrades. Fires were built on the 
banks of the creek, and both dead and injured were handled 
carefully, as the bodies were laid near these places of warmth. 
Ever devoted, Madame Turchin, our Colonel's beloved wife 
and companion, had soon torn her skirts into bandages and 



o 

o 



^ 

K 
^ 



o 

o 




The Nineteenth Illinois 145 

these were applied to the men's mjuries; she herself was of 
the greatest assistance in the work of relief and of caring 
for those who were suffering. The locomotive and one car 
passed safely over the trestle, and the second car was partly 
across, when the structure gave way, letting the rear end of 
it down to the bed of the stream ; the next car plunged into 
that one, while the third car tore through the top of this 
second one, thus making the wreck a horrible pit of death 
and disabilities. The fourth car was hanging on the brink 
but jammed into the third, and between these two coaches 
Lieutenant Clifton Wharton was caught and held so tightly 
that he could not be released without the aid of an axe, 
every blow of which must have been torture to that gallant 
and gentlemanly officer. Company I was in the first two 
cars that went down, and it was easy to see from the position 
of those coaches that the boys of I Company were all thrown 
into one end of it, thus causing that company to lose the 
greater number of killed in the awful accident. 

After remaining at the scene of the wreck for what then 
seemed an unnecessarily long time before relief arrived, 
the Regiment proceeded on its way to Cincinnati. Impro- 
vised beds were prepared with car cushions, our suffering 
comrades made comfortable, all the officers and enlisted men, 
from the Colonel down to the under cooks, and of course 
including Madame Turchin, helping to their utmost in this 
work of relief. On our arrival at Cincinnati the train was 
met by prominent citizens, the injured were placed in car- 
riages and conveyed to hospitals, the dead were carried to 
the undertakers, and those of us who were uninjured marched 
to one of the large market-houses where a substantial dinner 
was served. We bivouacked that night and the next day 
started with our late conu'ades on the way to their last rest- 
ing place in a distant Cemetery Along the line of mournful 
march Cincinnati had taken on the gloom of many deaths, 



11(1 The Nineteenth Im.inois 

Mild slow and soloinii were the airs wliich several bands 
dii-«:;ed for us and for those for whom we sorrowed. After 
we had thus marched, with reversed arms, for a few miles it 
was decided to return to the Railroad Station and resume 
our journey to Washington, leaving to the City authorities 
and the Ministers of Cincinnati the duty of concluding the 
funeral service, and which they did tenderly, lovingly and 
patiiotically. But hardly had we reached the station when 
we were ordered to go into camp at Camp Dennison, and 
there we remained for a few days. 

Tlien came orders to proceed by boats to Louisville, 
Kentucky, where we arrived on the twenty-fifth of Se]item- 
\wr, and on that same day, after being reviewed by General 
RoV)ert Anderson, in command, we went by rail to Lebanon 
Junction, thirty-five miles South of Louisville, where the 
regiment relieved some Kentucky troops and went into 
camp. Here we remained for about a month, meanwhile 
securing increased information as to the manual of arms, 
guard mounting, picket duty, and battalion movements. 
Verily, Colonel Turchin and his subordinate officers were 
an energetic group of leaders. Ceneral Anderson having 
been relieved by Brigadier General W. T. Sherman, the con- 
centration of Union forces at Mumfordsville necessitated 
the moving up of the troops in the rear, and on the twenty- 
second of October the Nineteenth received orders to pro- 
ceed to Elizabethtown, a few miles further along on the 
Louisville and Nashville Railroad; there we went into camp 
again and, it may be added incidentally, to drilling once more. 

Elizabethtown is the county seat of Hardin county, 
Kentucky, and we found it a very pretty place of about 
1,000 inhabitants. Whatever it may now be, it was then a 
well built town, many of the houses and stores being con- 
structed of l)rick, giving it an appearance of thrift and ease. 
The Eagle Hotel was quite a tavern, while a boarding house 



The Nineteenth Illinois 147 

kept by Mrs. Hill was like home. There were some excel- 
lent Union families in Elizabethtown, but most of them were 
'' secesh, " and had to be handled carefully; with the pleasant 
result that many of the ladies used to turn out regularly at 
the Regiment's dress-parades, and they seemed to greatly 
enjoy our cleverness in battalion movements. Camp was 
situated upon a hill about a quarter of a mile in a north- 
easterly direction from the railway station, and the view 
thence was beautiful. On the whole the boys were con- 
tented and happy with their lot, but there was a constant 
longing to get a chance to test our skill in real battles. How- 
ever, w^e received a goodly share of that sort of thing later on 
in life. 

On our approach to that town the owners of a local 
weekly newspaper fled the place and certain printers in the 
Regiment took possession of the premises of the ''Elizabeth- 
town Democrat." The plant was not at all a bad one, it 
was easy to bring out a regimental organ, and so "The 
Zouave Gazette" came into existence. It may never have 
been a powerful political sheet, like many a northern news- 
paper, but it was in close touch with the soldiers at the front, 
for, in those days, Elizabethtown was ''right smart near" 
the enemy, especially the enterprising and clever John 
Morgan. When the first number of The Zouave Gazette 
was on sale, great was the success thereof. Its carriers not 
only supplied the officers and men of the Nineteenth, but 
went as far afield as Lebanon Junction, w^here hundreds of 
copies were disposed of to the two Pennsylvania regiments 
encamped at that place. Between issues the assistant 
business manager "worked" Louisville merchants for 
advertisements, and among those that responded by insert- 
ing paid-for announcements in succeeding issues was a firm 
w^hose large trade was that of making a popular "fluid" 
known as Bitters. If this simple fact is mentioned here it 



148 The Nineteenth Illinois 

is because that firm was, in a way, the cause of the Nine- 
teenth losing a most gallant bachelor Captain. "Charley" 
Colby, of D Company, was "captured" l)y the lovely daugh- 
ter of the chief owner of those Bitters stores; they were 
married, he subsequently resigned from the service, and they 
lived happily together till death took him from earth to 
heaven. To the present writer Captain Charles Colby was 
one of the dearest and best of officers, ever kind and thought- 
ful of his men, and never afraid to go himself where ho ask(Ml 
them to go. 

The first number of this regimental "organ" was dated 
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Wednesday, October 30, 1861 ; 
it was a two-page sheet, and contained six columns to the 
page. The title read: " Zouave Gazette, of the Nineteenth 
Regiment Illinois Volunteers," and between the first two 
words, which I'an across the top, was a cut showing a globe 
floating on water, with the Stars and Stripes spread to the 
breeze above it. An original copy of this first number is 
lying at our elbow as we write. In the upper left hand 
corner of its first page is this announcement : ' ' The Zouave 
Gazette, published by the officers and members of the Nine- 
teenth, will be issued as often as circumstances will permit. 
Editors: William B. Redfield, of the Chicago Evening 
Journal and Lieutenant Lyman Bridges, Nineteenth Regi- 
ment. Ptiblislier: Lieutenant William Quinton. Printers: 
William J. Ramage, Co. C; J. H. Haynie, Co. D; N. G. 
Robison, ('o. E; Ed Archibald, Co. H; Charles H. Wright, 
('o. K. " Soon afterward William H. Christian of Company 
K. became a member of the staff. 

Of these nine men it is known that four, at least, are stil 
living. Lieutenant ' ' Billy ' ' (Quinton, who served throughout 
the war, was for some time in the Signal Service Corps, with 
Sergeant Foraker (years afterward a United States Senator) 
as his wig-wagging conn-ade. After the war Quinton was 



The Nineteenth Illinois 149 

commissioned into the Regular Army, where he remained 
until retired, with rank of Brigadier General, on reaching 
the age limit — sixty-two years. He was in several Indian 
engagements, for awhile served in the Philippines, and 
served in the relief of Pekin, China; he was ever a gallant 
officer and a genial gentleman. 

The real name of Ed Archibald was Slack. Like many 
another young fellow he gave a fictitious one in order to 
escape the vigilance of his parents and under a nom de guerre 
enlisted in Company K. At last accounts he was residing 
in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the successful editor and proprietor 
of a newspaper. Apropos, a rather curious incident may be 
mentioned in connection with this reference to Comrade 
Slack. In the winter of 1874 he was married, in the Execu- 
tive Mansion at Springfield, Illinois, to the niece of the 
then Govornor of our State; and among the guests on that 
occasion was Comrade Haynie. In 1896, while the latter 
was traveling in the Far West as correspondent of the Boston 
Herald, he not only renewed coim^adeship with" Archibald," 
but was taken to his home to dinner, and there had the honor 
of again meeting Mrs. Slack. Before leaving their hospitable 
house the visitor was requested to do his hosts a special 
favor. The family Bible was brought forth, and in it he had 
the great pleasure of signing his name as a witness of a wed- 
ding ceremony which had occurred twenty-two years pre- 
viously, and his signature was the only one in that book to 
their marriage ! 

William H. Christian was connected with the business 
department of the Chicago Tribune for several years after 
the war. In due course of time he met and lost his heart to 
the daughter of the General under whom he served on the 
Cairo Expedition; they were happily married and their's 
has always been a sweet and noble companionship. When 
the Zouave Gazette was revived in Chicago in the eighties 



150 The Nineteenth Illinois 

(Miristiau Ix'camo its editor. Ho tlicn removed to Missouii 
where liis wife's j)areiits were residing; and thenee went to 
Stephenville, Texas, where he is now serving the Govern- 
ment as Postmaster. 

Comrade J. Henry Haynie resides at Newton Center, 
Massachusetts. In "Who's Who in America" (vol. 4), one 
may read this record: "Henry Haynie, author, journahst; 
born in Winchester, Ilhnois, .July 19, 1841; son of Ornsbe 
and Zerilda (Rucker) H.; married at Waltham, Massa- 
chusetts, December 19, 1893, to Mary Huguenin Bright." 
(Here followed army service). "After the war he entered 
into journalism as reporter on a Chicago newspaper; was 
foreign editor of the New York Times from the spring of 
1875 to the autumn of 187(); went then to Paris, France, as 
special correspondent of several American newspapers 
(principally Boston Herald, New Orleans Picayune, San 
Francisco Chronicle, and Chicago Herald); resided there 
until in March, 1895, when he returned to the United States; 
traveling correspondent of the Boston Herald in America 
for some time; gave up journalism in 1898, and has since 
devoted his time to literary work; was decorated with the 
cross of the Legion d'Honneur, France, in 1892, and the cross 
of Chevalier in the Royal Order of the Saviour, Greece, in 
1895; was President of the Association of Foreign Corres- 
pondents in Paris for several years; President of the Play- 
goer's Club, Boston, two terms; member of the National 
Geographic Society; of the Grand Army of the Republic; 
Past Commander of Charles Ward Post; delegate-at-large 
from the DejiartnuMit of Massachusetts, G. A. R., to the 
National Encampment in 1904; was offered a conmiission 
as Lieutenant Colonel in the Egyptian Army in 1877 by the 
Khedive, but declined," etc. "Who's Who in America" 
might also have stated that Conn-ade Haynie saw Militia 
service since the Civil War. In 1873 the First Battalion of 



The Nineteenth Illinois 151 

the First Illinois Infantry State Militia was organized in 
Chicago. Gen. Frank T. Sherman, formerly ('olonel of the 
Eighty-eighth Volunteers, was chosen as its Colonel, and he 
appointed Haynie as Adjutant, in which position the latter 
served until the winter of 1874, when the resignation of 
Sherman, on account of failing health, brought about a new 
election of field officers. General A. C. McClurg, a dis- 
tinguished officer in the Union Army, and a prominent 
publisher at the time, was elected Colonel, and Adjutant 
Haynie was elected Major; he was, therefore, the 
first Major of the crack First Regiment of Infantry Illinois 
State Militia, which rank and office he held until his resigna- 
tion in April, 1875, when he removed from Chicago to New 
York City. 

A partial Roster of the Nineteenth appears at the head 
of the second column of that first number of the Zouave 
Gazette; and in it one may read that Mr. D. Haverty was 
the Regimental Sutler, that John Lane was the leader of the 
Band, and that "Nat" Sherman was Drum Major. It 
would seem, however, that the commander of Company G 
was absent on furlough at the time, as there is a small para- 
graph which gravely announces that ''Last week Captain 
C. D. C. Williams shot on the prairies near Chicago, forty- 
seven snipe and plover." But it also states that "the 
mules attached to a dray on which was the Quartermaster's 
safe, ran away and came rushing down the hill from camp at 
a furious rate, spilling out the safe in an adjacent grave- 
yard." The editor very properly adds: "A queer place 
for the deposit of Uncle Sam's funds." In those days 
Comrade Henry Clay Daggy of D Company, who fell at 
Stone River, was Regimental Postmaster. Mails arrived at 
11 A. M. and closed at 2 P. M. The Surgeon's report 
showed that the Regiment was more exempt from sickness 
than at any time since it had been in service. There are 



152 The Nineteenth Illinois 

nuiiierous (Iciieral and Special Orders printed in tliis num- 
ber; business must have been good, for several columns 
are filled with advertisements; the paper publishes an original 
poem, entitled "Camp Life, with Variations,'' and, as per 
orders, we had in those piping times of war, to answer roll 
call at 5.45 A. M., indulge in company drill two hours and a 
half every afternoon, have battalion drill at 2 o'clock, go on 
dress-parade at 5; and taps were sounded at 9.30 P. AI. — 
what! Subsequent numbers contained carefully written and 
signed articles by Colonel Turchin on regimental bands, 
out-post duties, bugle signals, etc., besides which he pre- 
pared a "Brigade Drill," m pamphlet form, and which was 
the first book of that sort since the old "Scott's Tactics." 

Twenty-one years after the muster out of the Nineteenth 
the Zouave (iazette was resurrected, so to speak, and since 
then, at long intervals, several numbers of the new paper have 
been published at Chicago. It is from these issues that 
many details and incidents included in this volume have 
been taken. Its first editor after the war was "Billy" 
Christian; its second was the late "Tom" Beatty, a Lieu- 
t(Miant in Company A, and at the time of his death one of the 
chief clerks in the Chicago Postoffice, where he served during 
several administrations. Apropos of postoffices, Comrade 
"Johnnie" Vreeland, formerly of Company A, is the Post- 
master at Englewood, Illinois; Christian holds a similar 
position in Texas; and Captain William A. Calhoun, of 
Company D, was the oldest — both in years and length of 
service — letter carrier of the Chicago Postoffice at the time 
of his death. For more than thirty-five years he was known 
as Mail Carrier No. 1, but he gave up his sack three years 
prior to his passing away. 

In the January 31, 1894, number. Comrade H. A. Downs 
gives the Editor of the Zouave Gazette an entertaining 




Lieut. Thomas M. Beatty, Co. A. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 153 

account of how he made quite a mess of it cooking some 
rice for his squad, "once upon a time." 

Toward the end of May, 1861, Downs and several of his 
fellow employees of the Illinois Central Railway imbued 
with the spirit of patriotism then prevailing, marched down 
to the old courthouse in Chicago and enlisted (or believed 
they had) in Captain C. D. C. William's Company of Sap- 
pers and Miners. He writes : ' ' After a few days of waiting, 
just how many I do not remember, we were told that Uncle 
Sam could not accept a company of Sappers and Miners as 
such, or separate from a regiment, but that if we would join 
some regiment then organizing we might be detailed on extra 
duty, which, perhaps, might satisfy our ambition. This 
information dampened the ardor of the whole crowd and 
resulted in the withdrawal of at least one-half, while those 
of us who had enlisted for the war began to look around for 
some organization to join. The Nineteenth Illinois had 
just gone into camp at Cottage Grove, and as a member of 
our company by the name of Sanders and myself had re- 
peatedly witnessed the drilling of the Ellsworth Zouaves in 
the old Garrett Block, corner of Randolph and State, we 
decided that we must all join the Nineteenth because they 
knew all about soldiering and, of course, would stand a 
better show in the future. Aside from Sanders and myself, 
I venture the assertion that very few knew how near we were 
to getting into the Mulligan Brigade, but into the Nineteenth 
we went and were assigned to Company G. We were given 
tents and camp equipage, our quarters were pointed out to 
us, and we proceeded to put up our tents. 

''As the regiment was not full there were a number of 
recruiting stations down town, ours being opposite to the 
old postoffice on Dearborn street, and was in charge of 
Lyman Bridges. We had not perfected our organization, 
but it was understood that Williams was to be Captain and 



lo4 Tfif. Xi\ktki:nth Illinois 

Bridges Firt>t Lieutenant. The strife was over the Second 
Lieutenant, and it was decided to leave that open as an 
added in<hi('enient for l)rin}2;ing in recruits. I may be mis- 
taken, hut I think "Hilly" Bi.shop was finally elected our first 
Second Lieutenant. We had divided the members of our 
company into squads of ten men each, each member taking 
his turn at cooking, and while I have no distinct recollection 
of just what our rations consisted, I do know that one of 
them was rice. I know we had plenty of that and that I 
knew all about cooking it. I proposed to put my knowledge 
into practice the first time it came my turn to cook, which 
was on a Sunday. Shortly before that eventful day I was 
out home and mentioned the fact that I was to be cook the 
next Sunday, that we were going to have rice, and as the 
cows pastured west of camp on the prairie did not give milk 
enough to go around I asked mother if she could not spare 
a pan or so; this was readily promised and brought to me 
Sunday morning. I was kindly told to wash the rice and 
pick out all the specks, old nails, etc., but not one word about 
the (juantity I was to cook, and the last word of caution was 
'be sure and keep your kettle covered.' I was to cook 
enough for ten men. I had the rations of some forty-odd, 
and undertook to cook it, in fact did so. Rice swells; if 
you don't know it ask j^our wife. I know now that it does, 
but I didn't that Sunday, and I was to keep the kettle 
covered. I put my camp kettle of water on the fire; got it 
hot and put in the rice; water and I'ice l)egan to boil, cover 
on kettle began to raise, tried to stop it, couldn't, put stone 
on top — no good, so I let her go; ground all covered and 
looked as if it had been snowing; boys standing around 
making sarcastic remarks, rendering me very uncomfortable, 
I assure you, but we had rice and molasses for a week." 

Curious to note, the very next issue of the Zouave 
(Jazette (January 1, 1896), gives the story of how Company 



The Nineteenth Illinois 155 

CI came to be transformed into a battery. In that number 
Comrade L. A. White, a member of G from the first, wrote 
as follows: 

"Dm'ing the Autumn of 1862 a detail was made of 
Company G, while the Regiment was stationed at Nashville, 
directing them to take in charge four pieces of artillery and 
proceed to Gallatin, Tennessee, located a few miles north of 
the capital, for the purpose of guarding from the John Mor- 
gan raiders, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and a large 
lot of army supplies stored there. They found a rudely 
constructed fortification which they proceeded at once to 
improve and put in shape for protection in case of an attack. 
With true Yankee pluck, officers and men set about becoming 
familiar with handling, loading, and firing artillery, and 
acquiring a general knowledge of artillery tactics. What 
was taken hold of from necessity, that they might keep at 
bay an attacking force, soon came to be entered upon with 
zest, and with the result that the brief period spent at that 
post awakened in all great interest in artillery, and a general 
desire that the remaining term of service might be spent in pull- 
ing the lanyard rather than the trigger. Fully appreciating 
his company's desire in this regard. Captain Bridges, with 
his characteristic boldness and push, set plans in operation 
which resulted in an order being issued by the Secretary of 
War, on January 14, 1863, detaching Company G from the 
Nineteenth and authorizing the Governor of Illinois to 
reorganize it as a battery of light artillery — six guns — and 
that the additional commissioned and non-commissioned 
officers could be added when the company should be fully 
recruited. For this purpose a recruiting party was des- 
patched to C'hicago. The forel^odings of evil to the Union 
cause, and the treacherous copperhead sentiment which 
prevailed to so threatening an extent in Chicago in the early 
part of 1863, rendered recruiting more difficult than at any 



!")() The Nineteenth Illinois 

other time during tlic war. Still it wa.s persisted in, until on 
the first of July the maximum number for an artillery com- 
]vduy had hoon secured. The recjuired eonmiissioned and 
non-eonnnissioned officers were then added, and the com- 
pany was fully equipped under the name of Bridges' Bat- 
tery, Illinois Light Artillery." 

Captain Bridges later was promoted Major and Cap- 
tain Lyman White, a gallant officer, succeeded him in com- 
mand of the Battery. 

Comrade D. B. Morehouse — a Lieutenant in Company I 
toward the end of our term of service; he is now in the 
United States Collector's office at Davenport, Iowa, and 
may he long live to draw his pay from L^ncle Sam! — con- 
tributed some of his early experiences of the war to the 
Zouave Gazette. After telling of how he, a lonely lad in 
(ialena, Illinois (that would be the city where Grant was 
clerk in a tanner's store; also the residence of Major General 
A. L. Chetlain, another fine soldier from our State), con- 
vinced the Mustering officer that, though small enough to 
be at the extreme left of the ''pony squad," yet w^as big 
enough to carry a musket, and writing of when he was a 
Corporal, soon after the Regiment had crossed over to 
Missouri, he says: 

"Toward evening I was given a detail of a dozen or 
fifteen men and told to go out a certain road until I came to 
l)ridge, and there post my pickets. My experience on that 
occasion, I think will show how green we all were — those 
who had not been to 'Big Muddy' 1 mean. On reaching the 
bridge I halted, and told my squad off into three reliefs, as I 
had seen done at Camp Douglas, had them fix bayonets. 
How I have laughed since, when I think with what awkward- 
ness it was done. We had only ow7ied those old repaired 
Harper's Ferry muskets but a little while, and were not as 
expert as we afterward became. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 157 

''I then took the first reUef out into the swamp and 
posted them hke a camp guard, only with shorter beats. 
The reserve in the meantime stacked their arms, or rather 
piled them up, under the orders and counter order of Nos. 1 
and 2 front rank, with a few quiet remarks thrown in by the 
rear rank men. Well, then I was corporal of the guard, 
sergeant of the guard, officer of the guard, and for all that I 
knew^ — grand rounds, and not a round of ammunition in the 
whole outfit. Rather a queer position for a school boy but 
little over sixteen years to be placed in. Things moved 
along rather smoothly until dark and it was growing very 
dark in those woods, as a storm seemed to be coming up. 
Soon my imagination began to get in its work. I thought I 
saw those fellows pacing their lonely beats, and in the darkness 
getting on each others territory, when in the excitement of 
their situation, they would forget the challenge, and begin 
to punch each other with their bayonets. Happily they 
couldn't shoot. In that way some one might get hurt, be 
killed, and I would be looked upon as a murderer by the 
mothers, wives and sweethearts of those fellows. My flesh 
began to crawl, and away I started for the line, disobeying 
my own orders as to silence, I began to whistle that they 
might know I was coming, and not first run me through and 
cry 'Halt! 'afterward. On reaching them I told each man to 
remain at one end of his beat, and keep a sharp lookout for 
the enemy, whom we might expect to spring from behind a 
tree or trees at any moment (I had read Indian stories 
before the war). Everything fixed to my satisfaction, I 
returned to the reserve and to thinking — thinking as many 
of you — yes, as all of you have when on the picket post, of 
my mother who is in heaven, of home and friends, and the 
girls I had left behind me, and wondered what they would 
say if they saw me at that moment. 



158 The Nineteenth Illinois 

" 1 nearly juiniH'd out of my shoes as some one exclaimod, 
'What's that!' and away down the road in the direction of 
the camp, we saw a j2;limmer of a light that seemed to grow 
to the size of u locomotive's headlight. Presently we 
noticed a swinging motion and saw that it was a lantern 
carried b}' one of the men, followed, I think by two others. 
They were biinging up the ammunition, three rounds to the 
man. I venture to say it was the first and only lantern ever 
seen on picket, but in our greenness we thought it all right, 
and wondered why Uncle Sam could not furnish them to be 
used in posting pickets. Tliis happened about one or two 
o'clock in the morning. 

"When at last daylight came we were glad to see it, and 
from eight to nine o'clock kept our eyes to the rear, watching 
for the new guard, which didn't come, and so far as I knew 
never got there, for at nine o'clock I fell in my detail and 
struck out for camp, which I found all excitement, and on 
inquiry was told that twenty-five volunteers were wanted 
to go upon some secret expedition, and I, after considerable 
talking got Captain Howard's consent, and became one 
of them. The expedition ended at a railroad bridge, where 
we went into camp, I think, under Captain Raffen. One 
little incident happened then I shall never forget, and as I 
think of it have to smile. It was the custom to send three 
or four men to the opposite end of the bridge, they to relieve 
each other. The bridge being without a floor w^as unsafe 
to cross after dark. Just before daylight, when all was 
hazy and pretty dark in those low lands, one of the boys 
shook me and says: — 'Those fellows in camp are sleeping too 
sweetly. I am going to get them up for l)reakfast.' I in- 
quired as to how he was going to do it. He said, 'By 
firing this old l)lun(lerbuss.' After some little discussion I 
agreed it would be fun and go ahead, as he said no one but 
us two would know anything about it, and that we would 



The Nineteenth Illinois 159 

not be fools to tell. With that he blazed away, and in an 
instant every one was out with their arms, and but 
little clothing, and came working their way as best they 
could over the bridge to see w^hat the matter was. I had 
hard work to keep my partner from firing again, to — as he 
remarked — 'Speed them up a little.' I think the captain 
was in the lead. Before reaching us he inquired as to what 
was up. My partner described how he had seen some one 
sneaking through the woods alongside the track. Without 
stopping to deploy skirmishers they struck for the woods, 
and in searching they run across each others tracks, so gave 
us credit for great vigilance." 

While we were at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, the new 
Department Commander, Major General Don Carlos Buell, 
went about visiting as many of his somewhat scattered 
forces as possible, and thus he happened to make acquaint- 
ance with the Nineteenth Illinois. He was much impressed 
and, contrary to long established forms, preferred to see us 
in battalion drill rather than to have the companies march 
past on review, after the old way of doing things. That day 
Ours went through the various evolution of battalion drill 
with a skill and regularity not to be surpassed and seldom 
equalled. Buell said to Turchin that afternoon, "I have 
never seen a better drilled regiment than your's." He 
soon assigned our Colonel to command the Eighth Brigade 
of the Third Division, Army of the Ohio; it consisted of the 
Nineteenth and Twenty-fourth Illinois, Eighteenth Ohio, 
and Thirty-seventh Indiana Infantry regiments, and the 
Division Commander was General 0. M. Mitchel. The 
Eighth Brigade, with the Seventh and Ninth, went into 
camp at Bacon Creek soon afterward, and we remained there 
until the tenth of February, 1862. 

It was just after we left Elizabethtown that we first 
heard of a soldier who, in the near future, was to become 



KKi The Nineteenth Illinois 

our own Ik'IonchI and iiovtT to be forgoUoii ( "oniinaii(kM-. 
George Henry Thomas is one of the most attractive miHtary 
cliaractors in AiiHM-icaii liistory since Cleroge Washington. 
Horn and reared in \'irginia, etkicated at West Point, serving 
witli (Hstinction in the Mexican War, Senior ^Slajor in the 
Regular Cavalry regiment of which Robert E. Lee was 
Colonel at the breaking out of the Rebellion, Cieneral 
Thomas let his love for the Union prevail over his attach- 
ment for his native State, and remained loyal to that Govern- 
ment which he had sworn to protect with each promotion he 
ever gained. We first heard of his heroic size and knightly 
splendor and integrity, when he destroyed the Confederate 
force in the Battle of ]\Iill Spring, Kentucky, the nineteenth 
of January, 18G2, and when Zollicoffer, the rebel commander, 
was killed. And Thomas, of whom we shall have much more 
to say before this work is completed, grew in fame and in 
achievement until at Nashville, in the concluding period of 
the war, he annihilated a much greater army than that of 
Zollicoffer on the field of battle in midwinter! 

It was in December, 1861, that the Nineteenth went 
from Elizabethtown to Camp John Quincy Adams, at 
Bacon Creek, Kentucky. The weather was rainy and 
severe, it was our first winter under canvas, and many were 
taken ill. February 10, 1862, Buell's army commenced to 
move Southward, Mitchel's Division in advance, and the 
Nineteenth Illinois leading. The high railroad bridge 
across Green River at Munfordville had no railing oi- pro- 
tection on the sides, but it was safely passed over with the 
teams by moonlight, and the scene was extremely jiicturescpie 
to all of us in the marching column. "The country through 
which we marched was cavernous, and the surface had many 
bowl-like depressions in w^hich w^as, generally, considei'able 
watei'. Oil their retreat the Confederates drove their dis- 
abled and broken-down horses and mules into these ponds 




Gen. George H. Thomas. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 161 

and shot them. But, as springs and streams were scarce 
in that region, we had no choice except to use the water 
from the befouled ponds."* Mitchel's Division consisted 
of the Eighth, Ninth, and Seventeenth Brigades; the first 
was commanded by Colonel Turchin, and it included the 
Nineteenth and Twenty-fourth Illinois, Thirty-seventh 
Indiana, and Eighteenth Ohio regiments. Experience gave 
something of a veteran character to this Brigade and war- 
ranted its assignment to the van in the movement on 
Bowling Green. The Nineteenth led the brigade, and we 
shall never forget that hurried march and what we accom- 
plished. At last, so it seemed to us then, we were about to 
receive our baptism in battle, and the hope of expectation, 
the pride of believing in ourselves as a fighting regiment, 
and the determination to give support not only to our 
brigade but to our Division Commander, placed us all on 
the keen edge of anticipation, so that the miles were reeled 
off as though they were merely furlongs. 

On February 13, a division was sent to reinforce Grant 
at Fort Donelson, while Mitchel's Division continued with 
great celerity toward Bowling Green to deter the enemy from 
sending troops to that beleaguered point. Our arrival on the 
North bank of Barron River, opposite Bowling Green, the 
day following was announced by the roar of Edgarton's 
battery, whose shells bursting in the city spread terror 
among the inhabitants and hurried the retreat of the rear- 
guard of Albert Sidney Johnston's army from that place. 
During the night previous the enemy burned both bridges — 
pike and railroad — and before leaving the town set fire to 
public buildings, railway cars, and other property. The 
swollen stream, now without bridges, prevented our im- 
mediate advance to arrest the conflagration. We could 
see troops loading stores on trains, but a well-aimed shell 

*Chaplain Van Horn's "History of the Army of the Cumberland." 



1()2 The Nineteenth Illinois 

carriod disinay to the Ijusy gi-oup in CI ray by knocking a 
locomotive to pieces. Another shot or two drove all the 
"Johnnies" from that part of our immediate front; still we 
could not get at them. 

Then Colonel Turchin asked ix'i'uiissiou to march his 
brigade down tlic river and cross it on a big flat-bottom 
))()at, or ferry, which had been discovered by scouts near an 
old floui- mill. (General ^litchel gave his consent to this 
m()\ement. and during the night the Big Barron was over- 
come, the Nineteenth being the first regiment to enter the 
Confederate stronghold, as we did about five o'clock in 
the morning. That day we found an enormous amount of 
stores there, and among these were some fifty or sixty bar- 
rels of fine whiskey in one single shed, that a few eager com- 
rades discovered. The more timid of these suggested that 
the liciuor might be poisoned, but several darkies who had 
hastily gathered round scouted this idea. Asked if they 
were willing to prove their belief by drinking some of the 
whiskey, they grinningh' consented, and as no "casualties" 
were noticed, the find was duly confiscated and another 
credit went to the account of the Nineteenth Illinois.* 

After a delay at Bowling Green of a week or so, during 
which time we heard of Grant's great victory at Fort Donel- 
son, Mitchel's Division resumed its march toward Nashville, 
distant about seventy miles. Marching by Franklin, 
Mitchellsville, and Tyree Sprhigs, the (hvision reached 
Edgeville, opposite Nashville, in the evening of the twenty- 
fourth of February, and the following morning the Mayor, 
accomi)anied b}^ a connnittee of citizens, formally sur- 
rendered the Capital of Tennessee while Forrest's Cavalry 
were still in the outskirts of that place. General Johnston 
had alxindoned the city as early as the sixteenth, and 

♦Yes, very likely, sonic of those boys may have retained enough of "them spirits" 
to fill their canteens. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 163 

concentrated his forces at Murfreesboro, thirty miles or so 
distant, leaving Forrest to remove or destroy the guns and 
stores, of which there was an immense quantity, when the 
time came. 

General Buell moved at once with most of his army to 
the relief of General Grant at Pittsburg Landing, and left 
Mitchel with his Division to hold Nashville. We remained 
there till March 18, 1862, when the division resumed its 
march Southward, encamping the first night at Lavergne, 
fifteen miles from Nashville. We were now in "a land 
of cotton," although the "cinnamon seeds" were not notice- 
able, yet "colored folks" were plentiful. General Keifer, 
ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, says in his book, 
''Slavery and Four Years of War": "As our column ad- 
vanced, regardless of sex and in families, the darkies aban- 
doned the fields and their homes, turning their backs on 
master and mistress, many bearing their bedding, clothing, 
and other effects on their heads and backs, and came to the 
roadsides, shouting and singing a medley of songs of freedom 
and religion, confidently expecting to follow the army to 
immediate liberty. Their numbers were so great, we 
marched for a good part of a day between almost con- 
tinuous lines of them. They shouted 'Glory, glory!' on 
seeing the Stars and Stripes, as though it had been a banner 
of protection instead of the emblem of a power which 
hitherto had kept them and their ancestors in bondage." 
But as a rule, we were not thus troubled on our marchings 
down South. Generally speaking, the darkies were faith- 
ful to those with whom they had " grow'd up, " and remained 
at home. 

We reached Murfreesboro the twentieth of March with- 
out any fighting, the small Confederate force retiring and 
destroying bridges as we advanced. Here we were occupied, 
when not drilling, at bridge building — 1,200 feet were 



1()4 The Nineteenth Illinois 

replaced in ten days — with occasional skirmishing lound, 
the enemy still being thereabouts; and then Mitchel moved 
forward, this tinu^ to Shelbyville. where he established a 
depot of supplies. While at Shelbyville an expedition was 
organized antl a bold and rapid advance was made on Hunts- 
ville, Alabama, to take possession of the Memphis and 
Charleston Railroad between Decatur and Bridgejiort, 
with a view to thoroughly breaking the direct communica- 
tions of the Confederates at Corinth with the East and 
Southeast, whilst helping the operations of the Union forces 
against Corinth. Turchin's Brigade, with Captain Simon- 
son's Indiana Battery, preceded by a troop or two of the 
Fourth Ohio Cavalry, moved the seventh of April to Fayette- 
ville, General Mitchel accompanying us. Just before reach- 
ing that town two citizens riding in a buggy were come upon, 
and they informed the Cleneral that on the previous day the 
Union army had been defeated at Shiloh, and driven into the 
Tennessee River. Mitchel at once sent a mounted Orderly 
with a dispatch to General Buell, and next morning, while 
at Fayetteville, he received an answer that Grant's forces 
had been defeated on the sixth of April, but on the seventh 
the combined armies of Buell and Grant, renewing the 
attack on the Confederates, had driven them back to Corinth. 
The Turchin movement thereupon continued, and we 
camped that night within six or seven miles of Huntsville. 
Although so late in the year, that night before the sud- 
den rush on Hunts\'ille was rather cold as we bivouacked on 
the slo{)ing side of a low hill, the long line of muskets stacked 
at our feet when we 'Svent to bed" after a hastily prepared 
supper. But all of Turchin's boys did not pass that night 
in "Nature's sweet restorer." Certain fellows in one of 
the companies of the Nineteenth had disobeyed orders by 
''jerking" a wandering "Secesh" goose, and while the 
Regiment en masse was soundly slumbering these young 



The Nineteenth Illinois 165 

rascals cooked their prey, the company Cook having kindly 
consented to the use of his largest kettle, stipulating, how- 
ever, that it should be well scrubbed before the hour for 
breakfast arrived, as it would be needed in the preparation 
of coffee. This "night squad" numbered six privates 
whose names are not to be made known to history. Three 
of them were to secure the fuel, the others were to alternate 
in keeping watch and heat over the "bird," and thereby 
hangs the almost tragic interest of this army incident. The 
longer that goose was boiled the more it seemed "undone;" 
and when Cook came for his kettle it was still non eatabus, 
so far as could be made out by the tasters. Then came the 
order to march at once, and in the hurry of forward move- 
ment the goose was forgotten! 

That morning Turchin's Brigade, the Nineteenth in the 
lead, made a quick jump for Huntsville, and most of the way 
we were on the double-quick. The result was the boys of 
the Fourth Ohio Cavalry had to ride some to prevent our 
over-running them; and great was the prize we gained at 
that place. Completely surprising the citizens of the town, 
we captured one hundred and seventy prisoners of war, 
fifteen locomotives, one hundred and fifty passenger and 
freight cars, and other property of great value. There was 
a train standing ready to move out when we came to the rail- 
road track; it had been abandoned hastily by its regular 
crew, however. Volunteers were called for, and from the 
ranks sprang engineer, fireman and brakesmen. Companies 
from the Nineteenth and Twenty-fourth Illinois were 
ordered to board the cars, and in a very few minutes that 
train was rushing toward Decatur, with a cannon mounted 
on a flat-car in front of the locomotive. Thus several 
bridges were saved from destruction. 

The brigades under Colonel Sill and Lytle, with Loomis's 
and Edgarton's batteries, were swift in following us into 



1 (■>(■» The Nineteenth Illinois 

Iluntsvillc, anil next clay Cleneial .Milchel sent Colonel Sill 
eastward to capture Stevenson, the junction of the Memphis 
and Charleston and the Nashville and Chattanoofia Rail- 
roads, while Turchin's Brigade was hurrying to seize Decatur 
and Tuscumbia, near which last we had a sharp action with 
the enemy, coming off victorious. Both exp(Mlitions were 
successful, and thus, within a few days, one iiundred and 
twenty miles of important railroads fell into our keeping. 
To hold what was thus gained, detachments of troops were 
posted at the more important points, and the whole com- 
mand was kept in readiness to move at any moment to any 
place on the line which the Confederates might threaten. 
Early in May arose what General Keifer, in his book,* 
calls ''one of the most exceptional incidents of the war," 
so far as our Regiment was concerned. Colonel Turchin 
had left the Eighteenth Ohio to occupy Athens, Alabama, 
and hardly was that regiment alone than it was pounced 
upon by a Confederate force commanded by Colonel J. S. 
Scott and treated most unfairly. It has always been claimed 
that the rebels fired on Stanley's men from houses in which 
they were harbored, and that the citizens aided in shooting 
down Union soldiers. The War Records (volume X, Part 
1, page 878) states that Scott, in his report to Beauregard, 
dated the day of the fight, says "the boys took few prisoners, 
their shots proving singularly fatal." Hearing of this out- 
rage. Colonel Turchin hastened to the assistance of the 
Eighteenth with the Nineteenth and Twenty-fourth Illinois, 
Edgarton'.s battery, and a part of the Fourth Ohio Ca\'alry. 
We met the Eighteenth on the road in swift retreat; but on 
our arrival it turned and aided in driving Scott's unworthy 
victors swiftly from the scene. In the midst of the con- 
fusion tiiat accompanied and followed this affair some 
unsoldierly things were done by men of the brigade, and for 

♦"Slavery and Four Years of War." (G. P. Piitiiuiirs Sons, New York.) 



The Nineteenth Illinois 167 

this Cleneral Mitchel, having heard that Athens had been 
"sacked" by his troops, repaired in person to the town, 
addressed the citizens, and had them organize a special 
committee to hear and report on all complaints against his 
soldiers. Mitchel also ordered our Brigade Commander 
to interrogate every officer and man under him on that move. 
The Athens committee subsequently reported, but no charge 
was made against any one of the Nineteenth by name; nor 
was a single man, whether of rank or file, implicated in 
wrongdoing by this inquisitive process. 

General Mitchel was satisfied, but not so with General 
Buell, the Commander of our army. Urged on by field 
officers who were probably jealous of the "Russian," Buell 
caused Turchin to be placed in arrest, and a Court-Martial 
was appointed to try him. This Court consisted of General 
James A. Garfield, president, and Colonels John Beatty of 
the Third Ohio Infantry, Jacob Ammen of the Twenty- 
fourth Ohio Infantry, Curran Pope of the Fifteenth Ken- 
tucky Infantry, T. D. Sedgewick of the Second Kentucky 
Infantry, and Marc Mundy, as the other members thereof. 
The Court-Martial met first at Athens and then at Hunts- 
ville, July 20. Colonel Turchin was convicted and sen- 
tenced to be dismissed the service of the United States, the 
Court having found him guilty of "neglect of duty, to the 
prejudice of good order and military discipline," of "diso- 
bedience of orders," and of certain specifications to these 
charges, to only one of which did Turchin plead guilty, that 
of permitting his wife to accompany him while serving with 
troops in the field. The proceedings and findings of the 
Court were forwarded through the proper channels; but 
mark the sequel! Before that Court-Martial had con- 
cluded its work and made its decision, a far more important 
document than it could ever have drawn up, one worthy of 
the officer and gentleman to whom it was addressed, was on 



KIS The Nineteenth Illinois 

its way to our army IVoiii \Vasliin^;toii. It contained the 
coniniission of Brigadier CJeneral for John B. Turchin, signed 
by A])rahani Lincoln; and thus were the enemies of our 
gaUant Colonel completely headed off, while to the Union 
was given another "Star" the bearer of which was ever of 
incalculable value to his adopted country. 




Gen. James S. Negley, 



CHAPTER V. 

PAGE 

Service in Tennessee 172 

Expedition to Chattanooga 173 

Services of the Mounted Squad 174 

Services at Nashville 178 

Gen. Rosecrans Takes Command of Army of 

the Cumberland 178 

Advance on Murfreesboro and Battle of 

Stone River 181 

Extract from "Patriotism of Illinois" (by eddy.) . 192 

List of Killed and Wounded 196 



The Nineteenth Illinois 171 



CHAPTER V. 

Until May 26, our brigade remained at Huntsville; then 
we moved to Fayetteville, where the once ''celebrated" 
body of thirty mounted men selected from among the sol- 
diers of Turchin's command, by order of General Mitchel, 
was put into commission. Of this force at least ten or a 
dozen were detailed from the Nineteenth Illinois, with 
Lieutenant ''Billy" Bishop, of Company G, assigned to the 
care thereof, and Wildey of Company A as its First Sergeant. 
These thirty "select men" were promptly dubbed the 
"forty thieves" by their comrades of regiment and brigade, 
and perhaps there was some slight reason for this peculiar 
designation. To begin with, each man had to furnish his 
own horse, and this could be done only with the assistance — 
gratuitous or otherwise — of the farmers round. We recall 
the names only of Comrades Wildey, Massey and Gaffney, 
of Company A and Gillespie and Haynie, of Company D; 
there certainly were two men from Company K, but of the 
others — Time has obliterated all recollection of them. It 
was the duty of this chosen band of horsemen to act as danger 
scouts, to fetch and carry sudden and imperative messages, 
in short, to lead most impulsive and perilous lives. The 
squad was disbanded on our return to Nashville in the 
Autumn of 1862. 

Only a short time before the formation of this incompara- 
ble adjunct to Mitchel 's Division, the Nineteenth was on an 
expedition, under Brigadier General James S. Negley, which 
proved to be a most important event in the Regiment's 
career. Kirby Smith, in command of the Confederate army 



172 The Nineteenth Illinois 

at Chattanooga, ashamed, pei'haps, of his futile eflorts to 
drive O. M. Mitchel out of the country, was believed to be 
im'paring to sweep down on our Division with a eonsideral)le 
force, thus threatening our connnunications with Nashville. 
Mitchel decided to. make the first move, however, more for 
the purj^ose of keei)ing Kirl)y Smith at home than with any 
hope of capturing Chattanooga. He constructed a rude 
gunboat to move up the Tennessee and supply his soldiers 
when they should reach that river, and Negley was detailed 
to lead the expedition. He started from Columbia, Ten- 
nessee, May 29, picking up Turchin's and Sill's Brigades at 
Fayetteville the second of June, on the way. The march 
from the latter place was through Salem, Winchester, and 
Cowan ; we had reached the foot of the Cumberland Moun- 
tains by the evening of the third. That first range was 
crossed next day, and, after passing through Sequatchie 
\'alley and the town of Jasper, Negley bivouacked his force 
at the foot of the second range. 

The distance thus far covered was about forty miles, 
counting the valley between the two ranges, and the artil- 
lery carriages had frequently to be lifted up their steep and 
rock}^ sides. Horses dropped dead in the harness by dozens, 
and mounted officers of the expedition were compelled to give 
up their steeds to fill the vacant teams, Negley's movements 
wt^re so swift, howevei', that the Confederate Ceneral Adams, 
commanding a brigade near Jasper, had no knowledge of our 
approach till the fifth of June. Early that morning Negley 
and his escort were picking their way along the rocky moun- 
tain side, when the advance came trotting back with Adam's 
]:)ickets, who had been surprised and ca]:)tured without 
alarming the main force of the enemy. Taking with him 
two guns, Negley dashed forward with his cavalry, sur- 
pris(Hl Adams completely, and the latter at once began a 
preci])itate retreat through a narrow lane toward Jasper. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 173 

The Union cavalry was soon upon him, however, sabering 
right and left; and the narrow land and broken ground 
alone prevented the enemy from being totally destroyed. 
The "Johnnies" fled in wildest disorder, strewing the land 
for miles with guns, swords, and pistols. They did not stop 
running until they reached Chattanooga, leaving some 
twenty of their dead, as many who were wounded, twelve 
others as prisoners, and their ammunition and supply train 
in our hands.* 

The sixth of June, Negley sent Colonel Sill to Shell 
Mound to divert the enemy at that point, and prevent them 
crossing, whilst the Nineteenth Illinois under Lieutenant 
Colonel Scott, was detached from the column for the purpose 
of overcoming the Cumberland Mountains by a much 
shorter but very rough route, thus cutting off the retreat of 
the foe. That march, or rather climb, was mainly by nar- 
row paths, to which, however, the boys did not confine 
themselves where trees and rocks permitted of expansion; 
yet we made such good time that the Regiment was opposite 
Chattanooga driving in rebel scouts and pickets before the 
main force was within half a dozen miles of the place. Adams 
who had been so badly punished back in Sequatchie Valley, 
had undoubtedly carried the news of our approach; but as 
we gazed on the city across the river no signs of their knowl- 
edge of our near presence was visible. When Negley's entire 
force arrived the sharp engagement, if such it may be called, 
began, though not immediately. Close to the river's bank 
the Confederates had thrown up earthworks, and just the 
other side of these was a large brick warehouse, while be- 
yond the town the enemy was encamped. The first cannon 
shot was directed at the brick warehouse, but it fell short; 
the second shot went too far; and the third plunged into the 
roof, thereby stirring up great commotion. From doors, 

*Chaplain Van Home. 



174 The Nineteenth Illinois 

windows, every possible egress indeed, the foe came tumbling 
out, and each succeeding shell quickened their movements. 
Then they comnionccd to reply to our cannonade and the 
fight was on. 

The bombardment and defense was kept up for three 
hours or so, the infantry taking part in the combat, and then 
we found rest in sleep. On the morning of the eighth the 
firing began again and continued for about six hours; and 
meanwhile Companies A and C, supported by Companies 
D, E, and F of the Nineteenth, deployed as skirmishers 
along the river bank and prevented the enemy from inter- 
fering too eagerly in this artillery duel. Our regimental 
loss in this affair was only one mortally and two severely 
wounded; and thus ended an expedition to a city with which 
we had much better acquaintance later on in the war. Mitch- 
el's object had been fully accomplished, for Kirby Smith 
was, at least for a time, diverted from contemplated raids, 
and the brigade returned in due course to Shelbyville. 
"The main advantage resulting was the intensification of 
the enemy's confusion, and the consequent derangement of 
his plans," remarks Chaplain \'an Horn in his "History of 
the Army of the Cumberland." 

Soon after our return to Fayetteville two regiments, 
the Nineteenth being one of them, were sent on an expedition 
to Larkinsville and Stevenson, .\labama, which kept us 
occupied until June 15. That day we started for Win- 
chester, Tennessee, where we remined some little time; and 
while there two members of the mounted scouts already 
referred to were suddenly called upon for i:)erilous work, 
that of carrying a message of distress from Turchin to 
Mitchel, forty-five miles away. Others of the "thirty" 
had reported the enemy as closing in on Winchester in heavy 
force, and as Turchin 's orders were to hold the town until 
further instructions reached him, it was impossible to 



The Nineteenth Illinois 175 

evacuate the place without permission from superior author- 
ity. So he determined to inform General Mitchel of the 
threatening danger and to abide by the result, whatever 
it might be. Thereupon he called on Lieutenant Bishop 
for a detail of two men to carry his message to Hunts ville. 

These details for secret service always came alapha- 
betically and it was the turn of G and H to "ride forth" 
on whatever dangerous mount the assignment meant. But 
"Johnnie" Gillespie and Hugh Massey had made some sort 
of a trade by which it was the big, jovial Irishman who rode 
with another that day of fifty years ago. Both men were 
ordered to report to the Brigade Commander, and there the 
message to Mitchel was read and re-read by them until they 
had fully memorized it. Then it was given to one, with 
instructions not to let it fall into the hands of the enemy 
under any circumstances, and if destroyed its contents must 
be conveyed verbally to General Mitchel. It was about 
eleven o'clock in the forenoon when, dressed in civilian 
clothes, those two members of the Nineteenth left Win- 
chester. After galloping along for about ten miles they 
came to a blacksmith shop on the pike, where a native 
smithy was shoeing a remarkably fine mare belonging to a 
neighboring farmer. Massey's mount had been giving 
signs of distress, therefore a war exchange was deemed 
expedient; and when the mare had been properly shod, his 
saddle was quickly changed, and they proceeded on their 
way toward Hunts ville. 

Along about four o'clock they stopped at a plantation 
house where only black people were found. To a darkey 
was entrusted the watering and feeding of the horses, and 
an old "mammy" prepared some coffee, the boys supplying 
her with that material. They had been there hardly half 
an hour when the negro placed as lookout dashed up, shout- 
ing, "Dey's a-comin', Massa! Dey's a-comin'!" Rushing 



17('» The Nineteenth Illinois 

to the door the scouts saw, far up from the hill road, a body 
of mounted men riding leisurely in their direction, and the 
darkies all were "sartain suah" these were Confederates. 
Quickly the horses were re-saddled, and our two comrades 
were off again, riding slowly at first so as not to attract too 
much attention from the enemy. But they were soon 
recognized and then began a sharp race. Near by was a 
shallow stream of water, and to the great annoyance of both 
scouts their animals insisted on stopping therein until they 
filled themselves. The trusted darkey had been too lazy 
to properly care for them. Meanwhile the pursuing foe 
was drawing so closely near that their shouts could be heard, 
and presently they began to fire. It seemed as if those 
horses would never get their fill of water; but at last they 
showed signs of willingness to proceed, and then the scouts 
dashed on. Their's being the fresher mounts, they soon 
found it would be possible to escape pursuit whenever neces- 
sary, but, in order to save the horses, the speed was checked 
somewhat, and meanwhile the foe came on at hard gallop, 
yelling "to beat the band." Suddenly, at their front, the 
two scouts heard the summons, "Halt!" it came from the 
bushes at the roadside, and in another moment both were in 
the hands of a mounted force wearing "butternut" uni- 
forms! Naturally they believed themselves in the grip of 
another enemy; but just then an officer in blue made his 
appearance. A hasty explanation w^as made, and he was 
informed that if he withdrew^ his men, there was good chance 
of capturing a few rebels. Quickly acting on this suggestion, 
he placed his force in the woods; then, on their being ordered 
to surrender, the pursuing body made a bold fight, but were 
soon overcome, and so it hai)pened that some twenty-five 
prisoners were taken into camp. 

Meanwhile the two scouts from the Nineteenth were 
riding toward Huntsville, but it was close on to midnight 



> 



o 




o 

p 
td 




O 
td 



o 



O 
o 




The Nineteenth Illinois 177 

when they safely handed the important dispatch to the 
Assistant Adjutant General, occupied at that late hour in 
writing letters home. He ordered the men to go to bed and 
report at headquarters next morning at eight o'clock. With 
some difficulty they found lodgings; and hardly were they 
asleep than loud knockings came upon the bed room door. 
General Mitchel wanted them at his tent at once. Hastily 
dressing, they followed the Orderly back to headquarters. 
It was now half-past two o'clock! Mitchel had been 
awakened; he read the message from Turchin informing 
him of the near approach on Winchester of a large force of 
the enemy with the Colonel's compliments, and wishing to 
know what he must do under the circumstances. 

"Get your horses at once, and prepare to ride to Win- 
chester," said the General commanding. But Massey 
ventured to insist that the horses were too tired to make the 
return journey so soon, and asked for new mounts. There- 
upon the Assistant Adjutant General said that two others 
of the thirty had not been on duty for several hours, that 
their horses were fresh, and he ventured to suggest they be 
sent with the message to Colonel Turchin. General Mitchel 
accepted this advice, instructed the new arrivals to report 
at seven o'clock, then dismissed them. They reported at 
the hour mentioned, then started back to Winchester. 
When they came within about six miles of that place they 
met the column marching away from danger. The other 
two scouts had brought orders to Turchin to withdraAV his 
force immediately, and the Colonel lost no time in obeying. 
During this sudden march the Brigade, the Nineteenth in 
advance, was fired on by guerillas in Paint Rock Valley, and 
as it had been previously commanded by General Buell that 
whenever this occurred houses in the immediate neighbor- 
hood must be destroyed, Turchin reluctantly gave orders 
to apply the torch. Three or four homes were thus burned 



178 The Nineteenth Illinois 

in roturn for the wounding of our nion by skulkiiifj; scalawags. 
It was pitiful, but it was war. 

The Nineteenth Illinois was next put to guarding 
bridges in little squads scattered in stockades along the 
railroad from Huntsville to Decatur, and thence to Columbia. 
When the Confederate army under General Bragg moved 
from Chattanooga, by Sparta and Carthage, to invade 
Kentucky, and had struck at Buell's communications be- 
tween Bowling (Ireen and Franklin, the Brigade was con- 
concentrated at Nashville. The Nineteenth was one of the 
last regiments withdrawn from the front, during which 
movement it had several times to fight the enemy, each time 
successfully. It was a way we had in those days of long ago. 
We reached the capital of Tennessee the fifth of September, 
1S(V2, and remained there under Negley during the partial 
blockade of the city against Breckenridge's force, meanwhile 
ha\ing our full share of guard and picket duty, short ra- 
tions, and sharp skirmishes. \\ Edgefield Junction, on the 
fifth of November, we had quite a time of it with Forrest's 
Cavalry, and repulsed him handsomely in that spirited affair. 
It looked occasionally during the seige as though we might 
have to surrender, unless speedily reinforced; and while it 
was no easy matter to hold Nashville and gather supplies 
from the country round, as we had to do, this was success- 
fully accomplished. 

After the Battle of Perry ville (or (/haplin Hills), Ken- 
tucky, fought October 1-8, by a part of Buell's army and 
Bragg's full force, and which was a serious defeat to the 
Union troops. Major General W. S. Rosecrans superseded 
Don Carlos in command. This was brought about by 
General Orders No. 168, War Department, which also 
changed the name of the "Army of the Ohio" to that of 
"Department of the Cumberland" while designating the 
trooj)s in this new Department as the Fourteenth \nn\ 



The Nineteenth Illinois 179 

Corps. This designation of department soon gave place 
to the more appropriate and popular one of Ai-my of the 
Cumberland, and it so I'emained ever after. And it was as 
a small but effective part of that Army that the Nineteenth 
Illinois gained nearly all the renown and distinction it ever 
bore. 

With Nashville secure in his possession, Rosecrans 
turned his attention to the re-establishment of his army, and 
on the seventh of November he announced in General Orders 
its reorganization. Under the new arrangement the Nine- 
teenth was brigaded with the Eighteenth and Sixty-ninth 
Ohio and the Eleventh Michigan Infantry regiments, and thus 
we came to be in the Second Brigade, Colonel T. R. Stanley 
commanding,* and in the Second Division, under General 
James S. Negley. We were already beginning to like Rose- 
crans, and we are proud to have served with him, as we did 
for nearly a whole year. Few commanders of his time 
possessed such military knowledge and fertility in the hour 
of trial, seems to be the summing up of military critics of 
Major General Rosecrans. To us he was always a soldier, 
brave, accomplished, and devoutly religious. ''Old Rosey, " 
as we soon came to call him, was, however, a man of fiery 
nature, the hot spirit sending a flush into his face. His 
temper subsided as quickly as it rose, and his troops adored 
him. 

By the middle of November, 1862, the whole Army of 
the Cumberland had reached Nashville, and it was now 
officially divided into the Center, the Right, and the Left 
wings. George H. Thomas commanded the Center, Alex- 
ander McDowell McCook that of the Right, and Thomas 
L. Crittenden the Left wing. In the Right wing were three 
Divisions — one commanded by Jefferson C. Davis, a second 

*Turchin, now a Brigadier General, was in command of a brigade in another Divi- 
sion. 



ISO The Nineteenth Illinois 

by Richard \\. JohiLson, the third l)y I^liilip H. Sheridan. 
In the Center wing were the Divisions of Lovell H. Rousseau 
— a loyal and j^aUant Keiituckian — James S. Negley, and 
John M. Pahiier, of IlHnois; and in that of the Left wt^re the 
Divisions of Tlionias J. Wood, and Horatio P. Van Cleve. 
Curious to note, the Nineteenth was the only Illinois regi- 
ment remaining in Negley's Division. RosecTans would 
not l)udge from Nashville, however, until he had accumulated 
two million rations at that place, and meanwhile this gave 
our Regiment an opportunity of disi)laying itself on fi-ecjuent 
occasions. Over us loomed Fort Negley, one of the largest 
and strongest of the many fortifications thrown around the 
Capital City, while in front of that stronghold, interiorly 
speaking, was an open ground whereon thousands of people — 
soldiers and citizens — were wont to assemble of Sunday 
afternoon to witness the Dress Parade of the Nineteenth, 
now acknowledged by all to be the best drilled regiment in 
the Army of the Cumberland. But we had something moi'e 
serious to do than thus exhibit ourselves, as is shown by the 
Official Report of Colonel Scott printed in Series 1, Volume 
XX, Part One, "Official Records of the Union and Confed- 
erate Armies," prepared under the direction of the Secre- 
tary of War, and published, pursuant to acts of Congress, at 
Washington in 1887. 

The year 18(52 was about ended, l)ut, undaunted by the 
snow-storms, and hearing that General Bragg had come for- 
ward towards him from Chattanooga as far as jMurfrees- 
))or(), Tcmiessee, thirty miles awa}', Rosecrans at last 
marched out of Nashville, boldly looking for a Decembei' 
struggle before Winter quarters were taken up. The tenth 
of December Negley's Division advanced aljout eight miles 
and camped on the Franklin Pike, where we remained until 
the day after Christmas when a general movement of the 
army was made towards where Bragg was awaiting it; and 



The Nineteenth Illinois 181 

as we marched southward we sang all "the good old songs" 
which Root and others had composed up to that time. 
We did not know as yet, however, that very soon one of the 
most severe battle of the Civil War, in which at least a fourth 
of the entire force on both sides would be placed hors combat 
within three days, was to be our portion. 

Two miles or so westward of the town of Murfreesboro, 
Tennessee, the railroad and the turnpike cross Stone River, 
a sluggish tributary of the Cumberland; and this triple line 
of road, rail and sinuous stream was made the scene of some 
of the most obstinate fighting in the history of wars. Rose- 
cran's force numbered about 44,800 men; that of Bragg was 
perhaps a little less, but he was on ground of his own choos- 
ing. The two opposed battle lines ran from North to South, 
the turnpike, railroad and river already mentioned crossing 
them at right angles and not far apart. On the Union right 
stood McCook; then Thomas in the center; then Crittenden 
on the left. Facing them, from right to left, were Brecken- 
ridge, Polk and Hardee. Both armies were, for most part, 
in a country roughly level, with forest (cedar thickets es- 
pecially) and clearing intermingled. On the night of De- 
cember 29, the Union army approached the enemy's position, 
Negley's Division being in the center, and on the morning 
of the thirtieth the Nineteenth, deployed as skirmishers, 
entered the cedars and attacked the Confederates, driving 
them across Wilkinson Pike into the woods, where our 
further progress was suddenly checked by the uprising of a 
very strong force from behind brick-kilns ; and there Colonel 
Scott's boys were compelled to fall back. Hardly more than 
skirmishing here and there along the front was indulged in 
during the thirtieth, but at last night came down and the 
contending forces slept on a field which soon became memor- 
able in American history. Some interesting and amusing 



182 ThK XlXETEENTIl ILLINOIS 

iiicitlc'Uts iiiii2;ht i)e j>;iveii here of our horse-meat supper and 
other sensations that night, but we pass that temptation by 
and proceed with the battle itself, giving however, the 
jiremier pas to the late Cleorge C'ary Eggleston, a distin- 
guished autlior and journalist, himself a soldier in the Con- 
federate Army, who wrote: 

"Bragg was an officer of great energy and activity, and 
he had under his command a force nearly if not quite equal 
to that of his foe; and now that Rosecrans was in his front, 
he determined to assume the aggressive and himself bring 
on the action. His plan was absolutely identical with that 
of Rosecrans, namely to push forward his Left wing, envelop 
and crush the enemy's Right, and by successive right wheels 
to destroy the foe or drive him into retreat. Thus Rosecrans 
intended to begin the battle at one end of the hne while 
Bragg meant to begin it at the other. Each, of course, 
massed his forces at the point where he jMirposed to make 
his first assault, and each thus weakened his line at the point 
which his enemy was planning to assail. As a consequence 
the initiatory advantage must of necessity lie with the force 
which should succeed in making itself the first aggressor, 
bringing on the engagement before the other was ready and 
st liking the other's weakest wing with his own strongest 
divisions. That advantage fell to Bragg as a reward for his 
alertness in striking as soon as possible after dawn on the 
last day of the year 1862. He had so extended his left, as 
completely to ovcrlaj) Rosecrans' Right and he fell upon it 
in flank with resistless impetuosity. The force defending it 
was (luickly crushed and the Confederates, advancing with 
entiuisiasm, Ijcnt back the next Division encountered, and 
after some strenuous fighting, forced it to retire upon a new 
line which Rosecrans hastily established at right angles to 
that of the morning. The fighting continued with desperate 



The Nineteenth Illinois 183 

determination and great slaughter on both sides until night- 
fall. The advantage was conspicuously with the Confed- 
erates, though there was no decisive victory won. . 
Rosecrans had been badly worsted, but he was not yet beaten. 
His army was not demoralized, and his own determination 
was not impaired. He took account of his ammunition, sent 
detachments to protect his communications, and resolved 
to hold his position and renew the battle on the following day, 
either as the assailant of his enemy or as the assaulted, as 
circumstances might determine. But the next day was 
passed in inaction on both sides, and it was not until the 
second of January, 1863, that the battle was renewed. 

"Two days later and after desultory fighting. General 
Bragg abandoned his position at Murfreesboro and retired 
to Duck River, where he fortified. He reported his losses in 
this battle — which is variously known as Murfreesboro, 
and Stone River — at 10,000 men, and declared that he had 
taken 6,000 prisoners. He also claimed to have captured 
thirty guns and lost three. On the other hand, General 
Rosecrans ret)orted a loss of 8,778 in killed and wounded, 
and about 2,800 in prisoners lost to the enemy — a total of 
somewhat less than 11,000. The two reports are hopelessly 
at variance and irreconcilable, as to the number of prisoners 
taken, as was usually the case with the reports of battle 
losses at that period of the war. They were usually inac- 
curate and never trustworthy. But whatever the exact 
losses were on either side, they were far greater than were 
those of many more famous battles, and about as great as 
those of the battles commonly accounted as of superior 
proportions. Thus the loss admitted by the Confederates 
at Murfreesboro out of a force of about 40,000 men, was 
nearly twice that which Lee, with a force of 68,000, suffered 
at Fredericksburg; while the admitted Federal loss at 
Mursfreesboro, where the army numbered 43,700 men, was 



184 The Nineteenth Illinois 

very nearly us great as that sustained \)y liurnside's army 
of 120,000 at Fredericksburg, including the fearful slaughter 
in the six terrible assaults ujion Marye's Heights. Obviously 
the Battle of Stone River must be accounted one of the 
bloodiest struggles of the war, as well as one of the most 
heroically contested on both sides." 

Befoi-e giving our account of this battle, we wish to 
cjuote another distinguished authority as to that first day's 
fighting. In the ''Appeal to Arms,'' volume twenty of the 
''American Nation" series (Harper & Bi'others), Dr. James 
Kendall Hosmer says: "Next day (December 31), the 
l^nion left was ])romptly on foot, Van Cleve's Division 
crossing with alacrity the ford which separated it from Breck- 
enridge; but just here came upon their ears the sound of 
battle from the southwest. Bragg, more prompt, had 
attacked at dawn — Hardee, with two splendid divisions, 
charging across the few hundred intervening paces. A 
woeful inij^reparedness pi*evailed on the Federal right; 
the Division conmiander and Brigade connnander, at the 
end of the wing, were not innnediately at hand, and the 
horses of some of the batteries had been taken off to water. 
This negligence was unpardonable before a soldier like 
Hardee, whose principal lieutenant was Patrick Cleburne, 
an Irishman full of the best martial quality of his race. 
The Confederate charge could not be more impetuous; 
McCook's first Division, that of Johnson, was crumbled 
up and consumed. JetTerson C. Davis, who stood next, 
having a little time to spring to arms, stuck longer, but soon 
his division was in flight. Next came Phil Sheridan's turn, 
and by mid-forenoon the Federal right was turned back 
like a knife-blade half shut. But here, just at the hinge, 
stood Thomas, stayer of onslaughts on bloody fields before 
the present one. On this day he was wanting in no point 
of conduct, and the men that surrounded him were worthy 




w 



o 




o 



o 




The Nineteenth Illinois 185 

of their chief. His two divisions stood immovable ; behind 
them ralHed the fugitives from the Right, that had been 
driven but were not demoralized. Rosecrans, though sur- 
prised, was neither dazed nor disheartened. In haste, re- 
calling Van Cleve, whose troops came back dripping from the 
ford, he postponed his own scheme, galloping at once to his 
Center. He formed immediately a new line in front of the 
Nashville Pike, a road which it was indispensable to hold 
and guard. Whatever help can come to hard-pressed ranks 
from the magnetism of a commander's presence was abun- 
dantly afforded that day. He rode from point to point of 
greatest peril, the cannon-ball that slew his chief of stafT 
grazing him. Hardee, and also Polk, who in good time 
had rushed in with the Confederate center, were sternly 
held; and w^hen the darkness came of a short winter day, 
Bragg's victory was not complete. 

The cold night fell, the winter heavens dimly lighting 
up the groups shivering by the camp-fires and the dreadful 
field with its burden of mutilation and death. On New 
Year's Day, 1863, the fight was not renewed till late in the 
day, the Federals then seizing ground which threatened the 
Confederate Right. On January 2, for a time, the com- 
bat raged with fury, Breckenridge striking desperately. 
His lines, nevertheless, were crushed by artillery, and with 
their recoil the battle was over — a battle in which neither 
side could claim to have won. Bragg withdrew at once 
thirty-six miles South, to TuUahoma, while Rosecrans held 
the field." 

Let us now look at this great Battle of Stone River, as 
seen through the mind's-eye of vivid memory by more than 
one of those who, in the Nineteenth Illinois, participated in 
that combat of half a century ago. On the last day of the 
year 1862, we in the center had all the work on hand that 
could possibly be attended to; and as the surging sound of 



186 The Nineteenth Illinois 

the tussle over on our right chvw loudci- and louder, evi- 
dently directing itself somewhat at oui- rear, we began to 
choke in the throat, so to speak, to think of home, and to 
wontlering if our own turn would come soon. The right 
was not so far off but we could see the enemy "doubling 
up" the boys in blue, nor could we do anything toward theii" 
relief, as the enemy was also close upon us, having advanced 
along his entire line. We of Negley's and Rousseau's 
Dix'isions were holding the center; and meanwhile our 
comrades were falling as the wheat falls before cradling 
machines at harvest time. We could hear the hoarse shriek 
of shell, the swift rattle of musketry, the sound of buzzing 
bullets, the impact of solid shot, the chug when human 
forms were hit hard, the yells of pain, the cries of agony, the 
fearful groans, the encouraging words of man to man, and 
the death gasps which told of those who reported to the 
God of Battles. Hosmer speaks of the position formed by 
the giving way of the Union Right as "like a knife-blade 
turned back half shut;'' to us it seemed like an inverted A, 
the point toward the foe, oin- own Division, lapping one side 
of the acute angle. 

For several hours the enemy's effort to break this forma- 
tion was fruitless. In vain the "Johnnies" thundered against 
us, firing their many cannon into our very faces at point 
blank range. They came so close to our line that not only 
did we see their every movement, but we could hear the 
commands of their officers. Still closer they crept, but still 
more firmly did Xegley's soldiers hold the position at the 
point of that inverted A. The ground was thick strewn 
with dead and w^ounded; struck horses, no longer neighing 
or whinnying, were agonizing in their frantic cries. Cannon 
balls cut down trees around and over us, which, falling, 
crushed living and dead alike. "Steady, men, steady," 
sang out the Colonels. "Steady, men, steady," repeated 



The Nineteenth Illinois 187 

the company officers; and the boys, true to themselves and 
to the Colors, held steady, like the mighty oak, whose acorn 
came to be their Corps-Emblem in the course of things. 

"There is a five-dollar bill in my watch-fob pocket. 
Take it out when I'm done for, " said a comrade at our side. 
In another moment the well-known chuck of bullet was heard, 
and that soldier went down, fatally wounded. Some in the 
ranks were shouting challenges to the fighters across that 
deadly field. "Why don't you come over and take us into 
camp?" "Hey, Johnny, step along this way, a little quick- 
er!" "Ah, yes, Massa Reb, very well aimed, but it never 
touched me. " There were others, too, who were whispering 
prayers, taught them when little children, by loving mothers 
now weeping great tears of sympathy for and belief in the 
adored son here at the front where we were learning that 
death has a thousand doors to let out life, as, in the midst 
of unspeakable danger, we heard the leaves of memory 
rustling as we thought of those whom we might never see 
again. 

No longer now could we stand up to fight as brave men 
love to fight, if fight they must. It seemed almost sure 
death, at least a wound, to those who stood erect, and, 
obeying orders, gladly perhaps, we hugged old Mother Earth, 
meanwhile firing low in determined effort to stay the on- 
rushing tide of Gray. The trees around were falling on 
rank and file alike, breaking and maiming them ; the bullets 
and shell-fragments were hitting hard and fast; and those 
who were wounded were being quickly carried back to where 
courageous surgeons were sticking to their duty as gallantly 
as any of the other commissioned officers on the battle 
line. 

While we were thus hugging the earth a young Aide-de- 
Camp came dashing up to where "Joe" Scott was. "Colo- 
nel, General Negley's compliments, and orders your Battal- 



188 The Nineteenth Illinois 

ion to hurry to the support of yonder guns," pointing as he 
spoke to where SchuUz's Ixittery was feebly l)hizing away. 
No sooner were the words uttered than Colonel Scott, spring- 
ing to his feet, sang out "Attention, Nineteenth!" and all 
and ever\' one not dead or wounded as promptly obeyed his 
command as they would have done were they back on the 
parade field at Nashville. 

"Dress on the left. Front! Forward, left oblique, 
double-quick, march! " The sharp order was repeated along 
a regimental line of men ever quick to obey, and off we 
rushed. Into the jaws of death, into the very gates of hell, 
as it were, the Regiment dashed, and presently we found 
ourselves just behind all that was left of a famous battery. 
A short while i)i'eviously there were six "beauties" in active 
use ; now only three of them were left on wheels, though still 
firing. Nearly all the gunners were down and out, and not 
a horse was fit for use. Those of the Nineteenth who knew 
how to load and fire cannon sprang to the hel]) of the sur- 
viving artillerymen. From caisson to prolong those, Illi- 
nois "dough-boys" jumped with powder bags or shell; 
charges were rammed home; percussions or primers were 
placed; hurried aim was taken; the order to fire followed 
quick, and so messages of destruction were hurled that 
afternoon into soldiers not two hundred yards away. Then 
came piteous appeal from a wounded artillery officer not to 
let a single gun be captured, and several men of the Regi- 
ment dragged the two pieces remaining on wheels into the 
woods, to where we were now falling back. 

By this time the enemy was so close that we could smell 
their burning ]K)wder and see into their exulting eyes. For, 
maddened by this resistance, Bragg was hurling the entire 
left and center of his army against Negley and Rousseau's 
Divisions what were left of them — yet was he being held in 
partial check, with frightful slaughter. At length, however. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 189 

Thomas ordered Rousseau to fall back out of the cedars and 
form a temporary line on the open ground, so as to give 
Negley a chance to retire to a higher and better position. 
At this time, in order to check the enemy, the Nineteenth not 
only remained in line, but Colonel Scott boldly advanced it, 
and it stayed there for nearly half an hour, being at one time 
almost completely surrounded; then it fought its way out, 
passing over large numbers of rebel dead and wounded in a 
determined and successful effort to join the main body. 
On rising ground just West of the Nashville Pike and com- 
manding the field, Rosecrans formed his new line, facing 
southwestward. The divisions of Johnson, Davis, and 
Sheridan were set in order; Van Cleve and Wood were 
placed behind them in close reserve; all that was left of the 
artillery was gathered in heavy masses, while to gain time 
for this formation, and to keep in touch with Palmer's 
Division, on our left, it was necessary that Thomas' Corps 
should check the further advance of the defiant foe. Negley's 
Division, and that of Rousseau, quickly rallied on the Colors; 
one Brigade of Van Cleve came as support, and once more we 
were ready for those southern gentlemen, who, apparently, 
seemed quite willing to do all that was expected of them. 
At this critical moment the fighting became as hot and 
destructive as at any previous time. Thrice did the "John- 
nies" assault our line — it was grand work on thek part — and 
thrice were they, woefully torn with grape and cannister and 
musket balls, held in check, which was, of course, great work 
on the part of the "Yankees." The tlii'ill of repulse was 
more fierce even than that of attack had been, and all men 
were heroes then. By a concentrated effort the enemy next 
tried to break through on our left and take the new line in 
flank, but Palmer made that impossible. Urged by Polk, 
their Bishop General, the Rebels struggled hard to obtain 
possession of a grove called Round Forest, and regarded as 



190 The Nineteenth Imjnois 

the key of oui' left, but all in vain. Then (ienei'al Polk sent 
across the river to Breckenridge, whose men hatl not yet been 
engaged, for i-einforcenients. Two brigades were pronij^tly 
sent at about three o'eloek, and the attaek on Round Forest 
was renewed. It, too, was unsuccessful; and so badly was 
the enemy smashed that it did little more until nearly five 
o'eloek. Then, sunnnoning all theii' energies, the Confeil- 
erates dashed forward in one supreme effort; but Palmer's 
men met them with a bayonet charge which changed theii- 
plan, and the fight in that ])art of the held was endcnl. 
Meanwhile the rest of Bragg's force attempted to break 
Rosecrans' new line by an attack in front, but his approach- 
ing soldiers were greeted with a shower of gi'ape and bullets 
which nothing human could stand up under; and hardly 
was the assault begun before it was ended. It was the 
Confederates now who took to the woods, and the firing 
ceased. 

The first day of the gi-eat Battle of Stone River was over. 

That evening our Regiment feasted on hot coffee, hard- 
tack, and horse steaks broiled on coals; and while Rose- 
crans and his CJenerals were holding a Council of War the 
soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland were sleei)ing 
peacefully on the ground, with overcoats and the twinkling 
stars for their only covering. Next day — January 1, 18(53 — 
very little was attempted on either side. Negley's 
Division was ordered to the extreme right to support 
McCook, in anticipation of a second effort of the 
enemy; and Van Cleve's Division, with one of Palmer's 
brigades, was sent to seize some heights on the East side of 
the river and plant batteries there. This movement was not 
discovej-ed by Bragg until the morning of January 2, on which 
date Rosecrans, anticipating an attack on his left, brought back 
our Division, and posted it to the right and rear of Sam 
Beatty's troops who were beyond the rivei', while hfty-eight 



The Nineteenth Illinois 191 

cannon were concentrated back of Negley, on elevated 
ground. Breckenridge impetuously attacked our left, 
routing two brigades of the first line and driving them pell- 
mell to the river and across it. It seemed certain that Van 
Cleve would be driven from the heights unless help reached 
him promptly. 

"Who'll lead the way?" demanded Negley. "Who'll 
save the Left?" he called out, thus asking for volunteers for 
a most dangerous and almost impossible undertaking. 

"The Nineteenth lUinois!" answered Colonel Scott; 
and so it came about that Our's led the dash at double- 
quick through the river — the water was over the hips of the 
tallest, up to the ears of the shortest men — upon the enemy. 
This incident was set to verse by a soldier in another regi- 
ment, and to music by George Root, famous as the com- 
poser of many war songs; and the words of that glorious 
anthem may be found on another page. Up the muddy 
bank right at the foe the soldiers of the Nineteenth threw 
themselves, and close at their heels rushed the rest of the 
division. Unable to withstand this sudden onslaught, but 
quickly firing a volley into the ranks of the advancing troops, 
the Confederates turned and fled the scene. A private in 
Company D had the good fortune to capture a rebel flag in 
that wonderful dash beyond Stone River ; and it was after- 
ward exhibited at the great Sanitary Fair in New York 
which Mrs. Mary Livermore had gotten up for the benefit 
of sick and wounded soldiers. In this gallant charge the 
Nineteenth also captured several cannon ; and one may read 
in the official report of the part taken in the battle by Com- 
pany H, Fourth United States Artillery, this striking sen- 
tence: "In place of our disabled piece, the Nineteenth 
Illinois Infantry gave us one captured from the enemy." 

The Battle of Stone River was over. Soon Bragg's 
shattered army was miles away, and Murfreesboro was 



11>2 The Nineteenth Illinois 

occupied by I'niuii troops. Rosecrans sent this tlispatch: 
"We have fought one of the greatest battles of the war, and 
are victorious. Our entire success on the thirty-first of 
December was i)revented ))y a surprise of the right flank; 
but we have, nevertheless, beaten the enemy, after a three 
days' l)attle. Thoy fled with great iH'ecipitancy on Satur- 
day niglit. The last of their colunnis of cavalry left tluN 
morning. Their loss has been heavy. " And to this message 
came a speedy reply, not from the Cleneral-in-Chief but, 
from the Executive Alansion, and signed A. LINCOLN: 
"Your dispatch announcing retreat of the enemy has just 
reached here. God bless you, and all with you! Please 
tender to all, and accept for yourself, the Nation's gratitude 
for your and their skill, endurance, and dauntless courage. " 

And Halleck, the General-in-Chief, disjiatched: "You 
and your brave army have won the gratitude of your Country 
and the admiration of the world. The field of Murfreesboro 
is made historical, and future generations will iK)int out the 
places whei'e so many heroes fell, gloriously, in defense of the 
Union. All honor to the Army of the Cumberland — thanks 
to the living, and tears for the lamented dead." 

In Eddy's "Patriotism of Illinois" it is declared that hi 
this terrible affair no regiment vindicated its manhood more 
generously than the Nineteenth Illinois, and that book says: 
"On the thirtieth of December the regiment had l)ut little 
to do and lost only nine men. The next morning it was up 
early in line of battle, although the men had scarcely eaten 
anything and slept on the ground without their blankets, 
which were in the wagon trains, miles to the rear. Soon, 
l)y the sound of the musketry, it was evident the rebels had 
turned our right. Thomas had lost i)art of his artillery and 
the veteran troops were retiring. Fiu'ther back, toward 
the rear, firing opened. Then the Nineteenth prepared for 
the fight. They changed front, fixed bayonets, and charged, 




Gen. W. S. Rosecrans. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 193 

the foe retiring before their terrible onset. Heavy firing 
commenced, and a storm of bullets whistled through their 
ranks. At the first fire Corporal Daggy fell mortally 
wounded. The enemy were repulsed, but the Twenty- 
seventh Illinois were hard pressed and needed aid. The 
Nineteenth faced to the right and as cooly as if on drill the 
men marched, with the lamented Scott at their head, through 
a terrific fire of shot and shell and took position by the side 
of the Eighteenth Ohio. Edgarton's Battery had been 
taken and was turned upon them, and other batteries opened 
a fearful fire. Word came that they were surrounded and 
must cut their way out. They faced about again, fixed 
bayonets, rushed into a cedar swamp, forced their way out, 
and, forming on the left of Sheridan moved to the front and 
went again into action'. They had hardly got into position 
before portions of the Division fell back and the rebels ad- 
vanced. General Negley ordered the Nineteenth to stand 
firm until the rest could form, and for half an hour, with 
the rebels on their front and flanks, it held back the ad- 
vancing hosts until the Eighteenth Ohio and Forty-second 
Illinois were formed, and then it retired to the center as 
reserve. 

"On Friday, those who knew the position of Van Cleve's 
division, felt certain that when the rebels did come it would 
fall upon the extreme Left. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon 
the fierce cannonading which had prevailed for some time on 
the Left was accompanied by a deafening crash of mus- 
ketry, and it was evident the battle was renewed in earnest. 
The enemy massed three of his divisions. Rain's, Anderson's 
and Breckinridge's, the whole under command of the latter, 
and hurled them against Van Cleve. His men bravely 
withstood the onset, but were literally overwhelmed by 
superior numbers and two of the brigades were broken to 
pieces. The other held its ground manfully, but to save 



194 The Nineteenth Illinois 

being suirouuclccl had to retreat, aiitl tlie whole were pushed 
back in disorder into and across the river. The rebels were 
preparing to follow when Negley suddenly apjieared in com- 
pact line of battle. His practiced eye at once saw the 
danger unless an almost superhuman effort was made. He 
rode rapidly to their front, and, in his clear voice, shouted: 
'Who will save the Left?' In an instant came back the 
reply from the gallant Scott: 'The Nineteenth Illinois!' 
'The Nineteenth it is then! By the left flank, march!' 
was the connnand. Scott put his cap on his sword and 
shouted 'Forward!' His men lay down and fii-ed one 
\-olley, then rose, fixed bayonets, and started upon that 
gi-and charge which saved the day, one as immortal as the 
charge of Balaklava. Into the river they plunged waist deep, 
although a whole rebel division w^as disputing the passage; 
uj) the precipitous bank, bristling with bayonets; baring 
their heads to the pitiless leaden rain; against bayonet and 
shot and shell ; careless of the storm that was tearing through 
their ranks; unmindful of the brave fellows falling in the 
l)loody track they made, they sw^ept on, resistless as a 
Nemesis. 

"At the top of the hill the rebels ti-y to make a stand but 
they are shivered like a glass as the Nineteenth strikes 
them. They hesitate, they stand as if dumb with amaze- 
ment at this terrible charge. Their ranks waver, they 
break and flee, the Nineteenth closely followed by the 
Eleventh Michigan and Seventy-eighth Pennsylvania, pour- 
ing destruction through their fugitive ranks. Across the 

open fields the}'^ rush to the j^rotection of their batteries be- 
yond, V)ut the march of the Nineteenth is like the march of 
Fate. Ucgaidless of the fact that the field is swept l)y the 
battery, they still roll back the rebel foe, ^'ainly trying to 
seize upon every ridge and clump as a means of defense. 
Over the cornfields, up to the very muzzles of the guns in 



The Nineteenth Illinois 195 

spite of their belching fury and sheeted flame, over the 
parapet, and the battery belongs to the Nineteenth. The 
Left is saved. The day is ours — the victory is won, and thus 
the Nineteenth vindicated its good name and made one of 
the grandest and most glorious charges of the war. 

The Regiment lost in killed and wounded one hundred 
and twenty-four out of three hundred and forty men. Colo- 
nel Scott was seriously wounded in the passage of the river, 
and died some months after from the effects of the wound." 

Such is the story, in brief, of the Nineteenth's first great 
battle, and if there are many more bloodier combats on 
record, or if there is one where better fighting qualities by 
Union soldiers was displayed, we know it not. A strange 
incident of the closing scenes of this remarkable combat may 
now be recorded. The day after that last day's fighting, 
soldiers were detailed from every Union regiment to go out 
to the help of the wounded still on the field of strife, and to 
give the dead Christian burial. In that gruesome task 
the men of the Nineteenth came on the badly torn corpse 
of a soldier in faded blue. The}^ decided that the remains 
were those of a member of our Regiment, and with gentle 
hands and tender thoughts they placed that body under a 
few inches of southern earth. They got a board and wrote 
on it the initials of the name and the number of the regiment 
of this dead Union soldier, as they then believed. The name 
thus designated was none other than that of the present 
writer, at the moment on his way to Libby Prison. A 
month or so later a letter from that foul pen gave the roster 
of the Nineteenth boys then at Richmond, and when his 
Comrades in D Company thus learned that their lamented 
Comrade was "alive and kicking" there was great rejoicing. 

Writing from Murfreesboro January 14, 1863, to the 
Chicago Evening Journal, Adjutant Bangs gave a corrected 



VM) The Nineteenth Illinois 

list of tho killed, wounded and missing of our Kejiinient in 
the Battle of Stone River, and he said: 

"Colonel Scott, though seriously wounded, will recover. 
He has excellent care at the hands of his mother, who has 
come down since the battle. He is the guest of Mr. D. D. 
Dickey, of Nashville. Major (luthi-ie's wound was slight, 
and has not incapacitated him for duty. The balance of the 
officers marked 'seriously' or 'slightly wounded,' have 
good care at Hospital No. 14, Nashville. Siu'geon Bogue 
did excellent service. He had charge of a hospital which, 
on the 31st, fell into the hands of the enemy; consequently 
he had to attend to the wants of the wounded of both armies. 
On January 2d, the ground was regained by our forces and 
held. Our Chaplain, Rev. A. H. Conant, was with him 
assisting in taking care of the wounded on the 31st. When 
the balls were flying around the hospital from both sides, 
he took a red flag, w^alked over to the enemy's lines and 
politely informed them of the fact of that house being used as 
a hospital, and requested them to shoot either one side or the 
other, as the inmates were probably badly enough wounded 
already. Assistant Surgeon Bailhache, although detailed 
in charge of a hospital in Nashville, left that post and hurried 
to the scene of action to attend to the wants of the boys of 
the Nineteenth. Too much praise cannot be given to our 
Acting Quartermaster, Lieut. Alvah Mansur. By his pre- 
caution in supplying himself with rations before the battle, 
our boys had ])lenty of hard loread, meat and coffee, while 
in many instances other regiments subsisted on nothing but 
roasted corn. It is not necessary to speak of the bravery of 
any officer or man of the Nineteenth. Enough to say the 
men fought bravely, and the officers were at their posts, 
leading, not following their different, commands." 

Wonndcd — Col. Jos. R. Scott, thigh; Maj. James V, 
Guthrie, face. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 197 

Co. A — Killed — Corp. Ira A. Pease; Privates Devillo 
L. Holmes, Thos. A. Moore. Wounded — Sergts. W. H. 
Wilcley, arm; R. G. Sylvester, head; Corp. Chas. Kerr, 
leg; Privates R. P. Blanchard, side; J. H. Edgell, leg; 
M. C. Kennedy, leg; Joseph L. Slagle, side; Chas. H. 
Tuthill, hand; Geo. Uttz, abdomen, died Jan. 2; Saml. 
Worden, shoulder. Missing — Christopher A. Mulvey, 
since Dec. 31. 

Co. B — Killed — Corp. Geo. Ryerson; Privates Isaac 
L. Kenyon, Chas. M. Leason, J. O. Imes. Womided — ■ 
Capt. A. Murchison, back; Lieut. John H. Hunter, thigh; 
Sergt. Thos. Robison, shoulder; Corp. H. B. Worth, finger; 
Privates Geo. 'Dugan, thumb; Thos. Turnbull, thumb; 
Geo. T. Sharrer, thigh; J. W. Oziah, lip; Columbus Morgan, 
abdomen, died Jan. 7; M. Douglas, foot; J. M. Deacox, 
arm; Walton Craig, leg. Missing — Corp. J. L. Kennedy, 
since Dec. 31. 

Co. C — Killed — Corp. Henry Sweezy. Wounded — 
Lieut. Washington L. Wood, hand; Corp. Delavan Craft, 
leg; Privates John Ives, hand; Webster Daniels, hand; 
Peter Boskourt, arm; Chas. Idair, neck; William M. Battis. 
leg; Frank Seguin, arm and side; Edward McCabe, leg. 

Co. D — Killed — Coip. Robert McCracken. Wounded — ■ 
Sergt. James Goldsmith, side, died January 1st; Corp. H. 
Clay Daggy, hip; Corp. W. B. Taylor, leg; Privates John 
Tanzy, back, and taken prisoner; Thos. Willard, leg; Henry 
E. Carter, leg; Jacob Balls, breast; Joseph Smith, head; 
Saml. Maddin, shoulder. Missing — Jas. H. Haynie, since 
December 31; Murray W. Smith, since December 31. 

Co. E — Killed — None. Wounded — Corp. Joseph C. 
Huntington, hand; Privates John E. A. Stevens, mortally; 
David McArthur, face; John Hays, hip; John C. P. Noble, 
mortally, died Jan. ()th; Thos. C. Welsh, hip; Thos. King, 



198 The Nineteenth Illinois 

tlii^h; Cleorge Joel, mortally. Missing — Corp. Peter F. 
(luthrie, since Dec. 31. 

Co. H — Killed — Jesse Maxwell. Wounded — Capt. Gar- 
riott, leg; Lieut. Wood, liowels, died Jan. 5; Sergt. Volney 
C. Johnson, leg, and taken ])risoner; Corp. Sumner Har- 
rington, side; Corp. Wm. Haggarty, arm, and taken prisoner; 
Corp. L. B. Thomas, knee; Corp. John H. Snyder, thigh; 
Privates, Henry E. Wells, arm; Geo. F. Fleming, arm, and 
taken prisoner; Geo. B. Sickles, shoulder; Jas. W. Carson, 
WTist, and taken prisoner; John Benham, ankle and taken 
prisoner; Jas. F. Coleman, eye, and taken prisoner; Josiah 
Suter, leg; M. Stoughton, thigh; Chas. G. Bates, \\Tist. 
Missing — Geo. Kearns, since December 31. 

Co. I — Killed — John Tritteau. Wounded — Henry Harms, 
back; Frank Hogan, shoulder; Richard Dohring, arm; 
Joseph Matt, leg. Missing — Lyman M. Jones, since Dec. 
31st. 

Co. K — Killed — Sergt. Daniel W. Griffin. Wounded — 
Lieut. V. B. Bell, head; Sergt. S. H. Scadden, leg; Corp. 
Frank Russel, head; privates J. C. Fullerton, mortally, 
died Jan. 3; E. Bullen, side; P. Smith, mouth; R. Peirrelott, 
thigh. Missing — Jas. Dwyer and Thomas Johnson, since 
December 31st. 

Adjutant Bangs Story of the Battle of Stone River. 

I will })egin this account of our First Fight* with the move- 
ment of General Rosecrans' Army from Nashville during the 
last week of December, 1862. We had been having a long 
resting spell there, and in the meantime Rosecrans, appointed 
to conunand the Army of the Cumberland the previous 
October, was maturing his plans for a grand forward move- 

*()ur (jood Comrade's claim that this was the Ui-giment's /irs/ fii/hl is er- 
roneous, as will be seen by reference to the main text. Hut it certainly was our first 
great battle. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 199 

luent. Murfreesboro* must be taken at all hazards, and, 
in the event of success there, Tullahoma and Shelbyville 
would soon be within our lines, thus removing all barriers to 
the ultimate capture of that important key, Chattanooga. 
Our command left Nashville about five o'clock A. M. Decem- 
ber 26, and marched along the Frankhn Pike until we reached 
Russell Pike; had proceeded about seven miles, when we 
took a cross road with the intention of striking the Nolens- 
ville Pike. 

Before reaching Nolensville we heard the roar of cannon, 
the first time many of us had heard it in battle, and shortly 
after we saw the flash and smoke of the enemy's guns, still 
a long way off, evidently disputing the advance of our 
cavalry. This firing, it appears, was from a detachment 
which was objecting to McCook's entrance into Nolensville. 

We soon struck the Pike, and the divers expressions of 
delight at again finding good Macadam under our feet can 
be readily imagined. On reaching Nolensville, we marched 
through the town, then went into camp about a mile south of 
it, knowing well that we were now in the midst of the enemy, 
with their cavalry about us, bound to try in every way 
possible to retard our advance, so as to give Bragg an oppor- 
tunity to concentrate his forces. Because of the poor roads, 
the wagons failed to show up, and as the boys were without 
knapsacks, it is easy to see the kind of time we had in pitching 
camp after a fatiguing day's march through a pouring rain. 
Next day we were marched back to the town. Meanwhile 
the wagons had arrived, but before anybody could claim his 
own an order came to "reduce baggage!" This meant to 
throw out everything in the shape or boxes, mess chests, 
extra clothing, etc., and all tents except one Sibley for each 
company, and one small tent to a company for its officers. 

♦During the previous autumn and early winter, the Confederates had been fixing 
themselves snugly in and about Murfreesboro, firm in the belief that the Union forces 
would not move before spring, but "Old Roscy" thought differently. 



2()() The Nineteenth Illinois 

The Field and Staflf were to get on with a large tent, while 
a small one was provided for the Adjutant. 

Quartermaster Sergt. Downs and I were left behind to 
superintend the work of removal; we had the surj)lus car- 
ried into a house, and a guard was placed in charge thereof. 
It was raining hard all this time, but we finally got the wagons 
started for the new camp. The Regiment had taken a cross 
road to reach the Murfreesboro Pike; we certainly saw 
worse roads afterward, but at that time we thought we had 
"struck the limit!" It finally cleared off, however, and the 
moon shone brightly; on either side and toward the front 
we could hear the rumblings of big guns, with an occasional 
sharp rattle of musketry, which reminded us forcibly that 
"the cruel war" was on. As Downs and I rode along, our 
escort close at hand, we felt well, indulged in a few songs, an 
occasional heart to heart talk of old times, and meanwhile 
enjoying that great solace of the soldier of every country, 
a pipe and tobacco. Danger lurked on all sides; the rum- 
bling guns told us that every step of the way was being con- 
tested; we were experiencing the first taste of real war. 
Our senses were alert; we would have been surprised at 
nothing, yet for all that, I can only look back on that night's 
ride as a pleasure never to be forgotten. 

I^ate on the twenty-seventh the Regiment camped 
within half a mile of the ^Murfreesboro Pike, in the timber, 
but only two wagons succeeded in getting through that last 
muddy road. Having plenty of wood, we built good fires, 
made "feather beds" of cedar })()ughs, and "slept soundly 
within sound of the enemy's guns. " Next day we remained 
in that timber camp, and one by one the wagons came 
straggling in, the drivers ''saying things" as to the roads 
and everybody pretty well tired out. Here it was learned 
that the order to "reduce baggage" was somebody's blunder, 
and though the teams were almost com})letely exhausted, 



The Nineteenth Illinois 201 

they were sent back, with Downs in charge, for the tents and 
other things at Nolensville. That evening Major Guthrie 
and I took a ride to the front. We saw the Confederate 
pickets a httle way down the road; our own pickets were 
only a few yards in front of us; as they were firing at one 
another, and as we could hear the bullets breaking through 
the branches over our heads we soon concluded that it was 
not absolutely necessary for us to remain just there, and so 
we rode back again. 

The morning of December 29, our Division was ordered 
on a reconnaissance to the right; we struck off diagonally, 
and in less than an hour we ran into the enemy in the shape 
of a battalion of cavalry. A battery opened on them, and 
for a short while things were very exciting. Whenever a 
shell burst among the Confederates, we could see the men 
and horses fall to the right and left, while those near would 
scatter, then rally quickly to their places and fill the gaps 
thus made. In our cooler moments we might shudder at 
the thought of human beings being thus struck down, but 
now we were exulting over seeing men fall, their ranks dis- 
organized, their advance checked by death. But such is 
war. We shot to kill; and no one thought for a moment 
of raising his musket so that the bullet might pass harmlessly 
over the opposing foe. That night we went into camp 
again, this time directly in front of the Confederates, they 
being lined up in front of Mursfreesboro. We slept in the 
mud and rain ; our teams were we knew not where ; and if 
they had been within a few hundred yards, they would have 
been of no use, as we could not have left our advanced 
position. The boys were minus tents or blankets, and 
without the privilege of making coffee, as no fires were 
allowed. Now an American volunteer soldier will stand al- 
most any necessary thing in the line of hard service, given 
a reasonable cause, but deprive him of his coffee, and he is 



202 The Nineteenth Illinois 

apt to use language! and no doubt some of the Nineteenth 
did on this occasion. 

During our advance on the fore part of that day un inci- 
dent occurred that is worth mentioning. At a small clear- 
ing there was a little log house, the home of a young couple 
probably just starting out in life; there were the beginnings 
of a garden, some cribs and pens, a few chickens, and a pig; 
but the family had departed in a hurry, leaving everything 
l)ehind them. Inside the cabin, the bed was nicely made up; 
articles of clothing were hanging here and there on the walls; 
the one room was as spick and span as could be. I might 
have made use of a blanket that night, and with it slept 
more comfortably, still I could not bear to touch a single 
thing in that neat little home. Yet it was a dead certainty 
that when the mam body of troops came along, not a scrap 
in that cabin which might be worn or used in any way would 
be left. We of the Nineteenth had not yet made up our 
minds to "subsist on the enemy." 

December 30, 1862, was a momentous and never to 
be forgotten day to the Nineteenth Illinois. Om' Di\'ision 
had been ordered to the front, and soon the Battle of Stone 
River was on, although as yet only in a small way. The 
Regiment was deployed as skirmishers for the Brigade, and 
it advanced until it struck the enemy, when a sharp fire was 
opened on both sides, which was decidedly spirited. I wish 
to say i-ight here that no body of exjierienced veterans 
could have exceeded the members of our Regiment for cool 
and deliberate attention to the business before them. We 
took advantage of trees and of all obstructions, as skirmishers 
should ever do, but there was no scrambling, no hui'rying, 
no excitement. Lines were maintained as closely as possible ; 
and, let me say here, the admirable courage and common 
sense displayed by our Officers, and particularly by Colonel 
Scott, were incentives to bring out the best there was in us. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 203 

It was the first time I was under fire; I didn't know whether 
to be afraid or not; and indeed there was not much time to 
think about that sort of thing, as Colonel Scott was going 
here and there, and I was putting in most of my time on the 
double-quick! But of one thing I am sure, bullets were 
soon whistling around my head in fine style. Compara- 
tively few of the boys were hit, and I often wonder how that 
could possibly be, as the leaden messengers were buzzing 
around our heads like swarming bees. We knew the bul- 
lets were thick, and we heard them on all sides; the old 
estimate that for every soldier killed in battle his weight in 
lead has been shot away, is indeed a true one. A bullet 
makes a pecuhar noise as it goes whizzing by; frequently, 
one involuntarily dodges it — the action can't be helped. 
The thought of saving one's-self is very quick in its action 
])ut the bullet that is coming is too swift in flight to dodge. 

That night we slept on the field of strife, well to the front, 
however, but the day was rather against than for us, al- 
though our position had been maintained. We had surely 
received our baptism of fire all right, and as becomes brave 
men. Many of the boys were laid low; we were assembled 
on the Colors; our beds were on the hard ground, well 
aligned, and we had plenty of time to think over the events 
of that day and to realize that the morrow would perhaps 
be one of still fiercer fighting. My mind again reverted 
to the admirable coolness of our Officers; every one was as 
clear-headed as though on parade; every one was in his 
place, ready, willing, prepared, and all received Scott's 
orders as he gave them, with coolness and deliberation. 

The ball was reopened on the morning of the thirty-first 
of December by the artillery of our Division, and from the 
word go it was hot every minute of the time. The first 
task of the day was to regain the ground lost by McCook. 
Rousseau and VanCleve were sent over to the right, and 



204 The Nineteenth Illinois 

after several hours of severe fighting, in which our Division 
took active part, a new position was estabhshed and main- 
tained. But the hardest figliting foi- our Division fell upon 
it that afternoon. The Rebels had i)laced guns near an old 
brick-kiln, and were doing deadly work, for we were exposed 
to a Hank fire on the right, whence ^NlcCook had fled. Our 
left flank became exposed, our right was wide open, and we 
were obliged to fall back, as we did in perfect order, however. 
We assisted in caring for the wounded; none was left on 
that part of the field passed over by the Nineteenth. Four 
of us carried a soldier from another regiment; he thought 
he was not badly hurt, but begged like a good fellow not to 
be left on the field, fearing he would fall into the hands of 
the enemy. He wanted me to examine his wound; a small 
blue spot near the heart, from which no blood had flowed. 
I could not but feel that he was badly wounded, but did not 
tell him so. We laid him down in a comfortable place, 
entirely out of harm's way, and were obliged to leave him 
there. 

The fire we sustained on that advanced position was 
terrible; all the cannon in front seemed to be determined 
to make things as uncomfortable and dangerous for us as 
possible. It was almost point blank range, so they had it 
''down to a nicety" for the Regiment. A shell burst in the 
ranks, killing one man in Company B and another in Com- 
pany C. A solid shot cut down a large tree and several men, 
including one in (^ompany D, were badly injured. The 
order to retire reached us none too soon. So the Nineteenth 
fell back, but i^resently, when we came within sight of the 
main sui)p()rt, we made another stand, where some rocks 
had been i)iled up, and here we held the foe in check until 
the whole Division had secured safer ground. But the Con- 
federates discovered this backward movement, and came 
rushing ahead, foolishly supposing us to be in full retreat. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 205 

The losses on both sides were heavy, and many a poor fellow 
was seriously wounded, Lieutenant Bell, Lieutenant Hunter, 
and Captain Garriott among the number. We were now under 
the protection of the whole Fourteenth Corps, and the Rebels 
could follow us no farther. That night we bivouacked in 
comparative safety, the railroad enbankment affording us 
good breastworks. It was practically the last of the hard 
fighting on the thirty-first, though we could hear the rumble 
of big guns long after we had gone to rest. Our loss in these 
two days was eight killed, fifty-two wounded, and eighteen 
missing, a total of seventy-eight. Compared with losses in 
some other regiments this was small; but when we think 
of our advanced and exposed position, at short range, it 
seems almost miraculous that it was so slight. 

On New Year's Day, 1863, our Division was not engaged, 
although it could not be called a day of rest for us. There 
was fighting over on the Right, and McCook, with the aid 
of other troops, succeeded in regaining some of his lost 
ground, and held his new position. But the attack on 
McCook was merely a feint, as was soon shown. That 
night General Bragg was moving the bulk of his army to 
his Right, hoping to crush our Left, where General Crit- 
tenden was in command. Bragg believed he had the best of 
us, and he probably had some reason for thinking so. Very 
little fighting was indulged in that day, however, and the 
troops on both sides retired to rest at an early hour. Next 
morning Negley's Division was moved to the Left until we 
came in touch with General VanCleve. The Regiment's 
orders were to support the artillery, and as soon as we were 
in position, just behind a rise of ground that concealed us 
from the enemy, and close to the river, I had leisure to run 
to the top of the hill and take in the situation. A little 
to our right, on a beautiful piece of ground, fifty-two pieces 
of artillery had been parked, ready now and waiting for the 



206 The Nineteenth Illinois 

foe's advance. General Breekenridge, having been largely 
reinforced, was massing his whole command, with the in- 
tention of breaking Rosecrans' Left. The Confederates 
were under co\'er of heavy timber, and we could see prac- 
tically nothing; but "Old Rosey" evidently knew of the 
move, and was preparing to give them a warm reception. 
WeJl, they got it! 

About three o'clock the Rebels moved out — they did 
present a formidable appearance and no mistake. How- 
ever, they had hardly shown their colors when the park of 
artillery just mentioned opened fire on them. Colonel 
\^an Schroeder, Chief of Artillery, was there, and it almost 
seems as though he personally sighted every gun, so deadly 
was the fire. Talk about the horrors of war; the Confed- 
erates were advancing a solid mass; and those fifty-two 
cannon were being fired into them as swiftly as efficient 
soldiers could swab out and reload. The continued roaring 
of the guns was like the volleying of infantry. It was the 
most magnificent battle scene I ever saw. The Confed- 
erates kept advancing, and while their attack seemed only 
half-hearted, it looked as though our Left would ha^•e to gi\'e 
way. Then General Rosecrans came riding along; asking 
for Palmer's Division and gaining no reply, he called out : 
"Who'll save our Left?" Colonel Scott stepped quickly 
forward and said: "Here is Negley's Division; we'll save 
the Left!" The order was given, and we did save the Left. 
We advanced (juickly and in perfect order; the Nineteenth 
Illinois led the way and was first to cross the river. The 
fighting which followed was terrible; indeed in many parts 
of the field it was a hand-to-hand engagement. The struggle 
was bitter, but of short duration. One account of the combat 
says that after the charge of Negley's Division, the fighting 
only lasted half an hour, but I was there, and I know it 
continued at least an hour, if not longer. The enemy fought 



The Nineteenth Illinois 207 

like tigers, but finally gave way, leaving everything behind 
them — cannon, accoutrements of all kinds, small arms, 
together with their wounded and dying. 

On the final charge the Nineteenth Illinois captured four 
pieces of artillery belonging to the celebrated Washington 
Battery of New Orleans. The survivors of that Battery 
have since made the boast that it never lost a gun until the 
Battle of Chancellorsville ; nevertheless, I believe we took 
four of their guns at Stone River. When I arrived at the 
place where those brave artillerymen made their last stand, 
and I was among the first, their dead and wounded were 
lying around, some of them in horrible condition. I asked 
one poor fellow the name of the Battery, and he told me 
distinctly it was the Washington. We knew that that 
Battery was in Bragg's command, and were elated over the 
fact that we were the first to wheel its captured guns to the 
rear. If I am not mistaken, we also captured two Con- 
federate flags. In passing over the field, I came upon two 
soldiers lying as close as they could to a big log; one of them 
was badly wounded, but the other was all right. As soon 
as I came within hailing distance the uninjured one called 
to me, begging permission to go with his brother and take 
care of him. I never heard a more pitiful plea in all my life; 
he didn't care where he himself was taken, or what might 
happen to him, if he were only allowed to care for his wound- 
ed brother. He said they had no desire to go back into the 
Rebel ranks; that they had been forced to join the Con- 
federate Army, and that they had avoided taking a fighting 
part in every way. They looked like well-to-do Southerners 
of the better class, conversing intelligently. The one that 
did most of the talking declared their sympathies were not 
with the South, but that they had been pressed into the 
service and were now making the best of it. I believe they 
told the truth. When the ambulance corps came around, 



208 The Nineteenth Illinois 

they wore pr()l)ahly carriod to the rear, but there is no know- 
ing wliether they were permitted to remain together or not. 

At this jioint I ran across Downs, and we went over 
some parts of the field together. The Rebel wounded could 
not be cared for at once, as our own casualties were heavy, 
and the surgeons were all busy. Tiiat night the Confed- 
erates left seventeen hundred killed and wounded on the 
field. It was claimed that our loss was as heavy, but I do 
not believe it. The Regiment's loss on this, the last day's 
engagement, was comparatively small; seven were killed, 
and thirty-two wounded. Captain Chandler of Company 
F was shot dead; Lieutenant Wood of Company H re- 
ceived wounds of which he died on the fifth; Lafey Wood 
of Company C, was slightly wounded in the right hand; 
Major Guthrie had a slight wound in the face; Colonel 
Joe Scott received a severe wound from which he never 
recovered. Many of our boys were scattered over the 
battlefield, giving water to the wounded. The sights we 
saw were never to be forgotten; I do not care to try and 
describe them. I gave my water canteen to one of the 
Washington Battery boys. The Confederates had reti'eated 
through heavy timber, and as it was almost dark our scat- 
tered troops were called ])ack, not knowing what kind of an 
ambush we might I'un uj) against. 

We remained in camp all day the third of January; it 
was rainy and disagreeable, and we were well i)leased to be 
"let alone. " Towards evening of the fourth we were moved 
to the front, and the Regiment was sent out on picket duty. 
That night headcjuarters had the good luck to have a roof 
over our heads, and we were able to sleep dry, above and 
underneath, feeling reasonably certain, meanwhile that the 
moi-row would not open with heavy cannonading at the 
front. We all remember the restful days after Stone River 



> 

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p 




O 



op 

in 




The Nineteenth Illinois 209 

Battle. We were obliged to wait for our wagons, contain- 
ing provisions, tents, and possibly mail from the North 
which had difficulty in finding us. We talked again and 
again of the incidents, both great and small, of the four 
days' fighting; we thought of our wounded Colonel, and 
wondered if he would ever be with us again ; and we thought 
of our comrades of all ranks, dead, wounded, and missing 
now, but were brave when the trying moments were on them 
and us; men who had stood up, facing the foe in mortal 
strife, who were worthy of the regiment to which we all be- 
longed — the Nineteenth Illinois Infantry. 

Leslie G. Bangs, 
First Lieutenant and Adjutant 
Nineteenth Illinois Infantry. 



CHAPTER VL 

PAGE 

Chattanooga Campaign 213 

Movements of the Regiment — by IjIeut. John 

Young 214 

Battle at Bailey's Crossroads 215 

Battle of Chickamauga 217 

Occupation of Chattanooga 218 



The Nineteenth Illinois 213 



CHAPTER VI. 

After the Battle of Stone River General Rosecrans kept 
his army in and around Murfreesboro until June 24, 1863, a 
period of six months, when he moved it on the enemy. Gen- 
eral Bragg was known to be at Tullahoma, and as the Army 
of the Cumberland advanced he fell back until he reached 
Chattanooga. Now, strategetically considered, there was no 
point in the Middle South so important to either side as that 
city. It was, . therefore, necessary for "Old Rosey" to 
capture it ; Halleck might have easily done so after the Battle 
of Shiloh had he been a greater general. Beauregard only 
had 50,000 men with him to oppose Halleck's 90,000, al- 
though there were 12,000 more confederates with Kirby 
Smith at Knoxville, 9,000 of them with George Morgan at 
Cumberland Gap, and about 2,000 at Chattanooga, watched, 
however, from Huntsville by General O. M. Mitchel, as 
already indicated. It can be safely asserted that the Nine- 
teenth Illinois had as much to do with the war history of 
that city as any regiment in the Union service, and our doings 
there, or thereabouts, may be divided into five stories: 
First, the rush of the Regiment on that place, under Negley, 
as related in the previous chapter; second, our approach 
to it this time, with Thomas and Rosecrans; third, being 
besieged there following the Battle of Chickamauga ; fourth, 
our sojourn in it after the incomparable affair of Missionary 
Ridge ; and fifth, our departure thence on the Atlanta Cam- 
paign with Sherman. 

It was believed that the side which had possession of 
Chattanooga could hold the place against a force out- 



214 The Nineteenth Illinois 

miinheiiiig its garrison many times, and this surmise was 
made a fact when the Union .\rmy took possession of it in 
SoptomhcM'. 1S()3. (leneral Bragg, an exceedingly capa))le 
strategist and liard fighter, occupied Chattanooga, Tenn., 
th(» importance of which had been indicated, and it was 
necessary for Rosecrans to dispossess him f)f that place. 
To have hurled his army against the city would have been 
madness, if not suicidal folly, however; in such an assault 
we would probably have lost ten men for every one of the 
enemy; therefore it was obligatory on ''Old Rose}^" to 
resort to strategy to secure Chattanooga. As the late 
George Cary Eggleston says in his fine book, "The History 
of the Confederate War" in order to do so Rosecrans pushed 
a part of his army southward, threatening an invasion of 
Georgia. ''That State was defenceless except in so far as 
Bragg's army defended it, therefore Rosecrans' movement 
compelled him to withdraw from his strong position in order 
to head off what he supposed to be a southward movement. " 
But before taking up this direct attack on Bragg's army 
we must give more detailed account of the doings of the 
Nineteenth Illinois after quitting Murfreesboro ; and Lieu- 
tenant Comrade John Young has furnished us with this im- 
portant information. ''I have before me," he writes, "the 
Monthly Returns of the Regiment for August and September, 
18()3. The September return gives in detail the movements 
of the Nineteenth from the date of our breaking Camp at 
Cave Springs, Alabama, on the first of that month, up to the 
occupation of Chattanooga after the Battle of Chickamauga. 
The return for August, dated September 1, gives the number 
present for duty on that date as : Commissioned Officers, 21 ; 
enlisted men, 317; total, 338. During the subsequent 
eighteen days preceding that great battle, we had crossed 
the Tennessee River — had been on the march continuously, 
crossing three mountain ranges, our artillery and wagon 



The Nineteenth Illinois 215 

trains being frequently hauled up the steep heights by hand. 
On September 9, during a reconnaissance, we skirmished 
with the enemy for several hours, and on the eleventh, at 
Davis' Cross Roads, we had a sharp engagement lasting 
until dark. With no accessions to our ranks, and allowing 
for the losses sustained in previous actions, as well as for those 
who gave out during the severe marching, it is fair to assume 
that we did not number to exceed 300, rank and file, on the 
first day of the great battle at Chickamauga. " 

The movements of the Regiment thus referred to were 
as follows: September 1, broke camp at Cave Spring, 
Alabama, at 5:30 o'clock P. M.; crossed the Tennessee 
River at Caperton's Ferry, and bivouacked four miles south 
of the river at 11 P. M., having marched eight miles. Sep- 
tember 2, moved at 7:45 A. M.; marched twelve miles and 
bivouacked nearly opposite Bridgeport, Alabama, at the 
foot of Raccoon Mountain about 4 P. M. September 3, 
moved at 8:45 A. M. to the side of the mountain where the 
Regiment was deployed to assist the wagon train of our 
Division (Negley's) to ascend, until 3 P. M. when we moved 
to the top, where we bivouacked. September 4, marched at 
8 A. M., crossed the Raccoon Mountain, arrived within 
about two and a half miles of Trenton, Georgia, pitched 
tents at 8 P. M., and went into camp, having marched about 
eleven miles, many of them almost perpendicular. Sep- 
tember 6, broke camp at 11 :30 A. M., and advanced seven or 
eight miles on the Lebanon road, bivouacking at 5 P. M. on 
Lookout Creek. On the seventh we marched at 7:30 A. M. 
to the top of Lookout Mountain, to Stevens' Gap, where we 
bivouacked at 1 P. M. The eighth we marched at 9:30 
A. M. proceeded about two miles along the summit of 
Lookout and bivouacked shortly before noon. September 
9, moved at eight o'clock, marched down the mountain, 
and bivouacked about half past ten in the forenoon at Bailey's 



216 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Cross Roads. Went on reconnaissance to the front at oil^O 
P. M., and, after slight skirniisliinfj;. returned to bivouac 
at 8 P. M. On the tenth we marclied at S:30A. M. to Davis' 
Cross Roads and bivouacked. 

This brings us to the "sharp engagement" lefeired to by 
Comrade Young, and the Davis' Cross Roads affair may be 
called the }irelude to Chickamauga. It was one of the most 
s(ul)l)()riily contested fights in which the Regiment ever 
participated. Stanley's Brigade — that would be ours — 
took position on a ridge in an open field adjoining the river, 
the Nineteenth Illinois on the left, the Eleventh Michigan 
on the right, with sections of the Fourth Indiana Battery 
on each flank and in the center of the line. Breastworks 
of fence rails were then thrown up, but about four in the 
afternoon our Regiment was withdrawn a mile or so to the 
Davis' house and formed on the right of the road. Here 
breastworks were also constructed as speedily as possible; 
Company I was posted to the right and front, behind a barn, 
while Company K was sent to the left and front, to take 
position behind a stone wall which commanded the road. 
There was a cavalry charge on our left, but it was rei)ulsed; 
then Company B was also sent to the skirmish line, and the 
rest of the Nineteenth advanced to the stone wall just men- 
tioned; for by now the enemy was advancing most gallantly. 
At close range the Regiment opened a sharp musketry fire 
on the foe, instantly silencing their exultant yells, and 
killing several, including a Confederate Lieutenant Colonel, 
besides wounding a large number, driving their force back 
in confusion. The enemy then planted a battery on the 
light of the road and it openetl fire, by which we lost one man 
killed and one wounded. About 5:30 }). m. the Regiment 
was withdrawn to Davis' Cross Road, took ]Kisition to the 
left of that road, and laid on our arms all night. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 217 

Meanwhile, and seeing his communications threatened, 
Bragg, who had called in Buckner's large foi-ce from Eastern 
Tennessee — thus giving up Knoxville, which Burnside im- 
mediately occupied — evacuated Chattanooga, and moved 
twenty-five miles South to Lafayette, where he covered the 
railroad and hoped to fall heavily upon the Union columns 
as they debouched from the mountain passes. On the 
ninth of September Crittenden's Corps marched from Wau- 
hatchie into Chattanooga and took possession of that long- 
coveted town. Much had thus been accomplished by the 
Army of the Cumberland ; and, greatly elated, the people in 
the North looked on with eager expectation, not knowing that 
a serious disaster was soon to follow on the heels of this 
premature rejoicing. For, believing that Bragg's movement 
was one of retreat, although it was never so intended, Rose- 
crans chose to pursue the enemy along the railroad to Ring- 
gold and Dalton. Toward this end he withdrew all of Crit- 
tenden's Corps except one brigade, sent Thomas' Corps into 
McLemore's Cove, and pushed forward McCook's Corps to 
Alpine and Summerville, thus dividing his army into three 
parts, rather widely separated. "Such a movement was 
hardly justifiable except against a beaten and demoralized 
enemy," says John Fiske in "The Mississippi Valley in the 
Civil War." And he adds: "The three corps numbered 
each scarcely 20,000 men; and between them and Lafayette, 
close in front of the LTnion Center, was Bragg's whole army 
in excellent condition and numbering full 55,000. It looked 
as if Rosecrans were going to end his brilliant campaign 
by seeing his army annihilated corps by corps, for he could 
not possibly draw it together in less than three or four days." 

Things, however, did not come to such a pass as that; 
but as this is not a history of Rosecrans ' campaign, we must 
necessarily leave out details and come as soon as possible 
to one of the most terrible battles of the Civil War, where 



218 The Nineteenth Illinois 

tlic Nineteenth reaped its full share of the glory which came 
to the Fourteenth Army Corps. 

For two long days — the nineteentli and twentieth of 
September, 1863 — one hundred and thirty thousand 
"starved dogs of war fed full," as hundreds of wide- 
mouthed cannon growled; and the feeding lines of 
shouting struggling men were so awfully decimated 
on a Saturday and Sunday of forty-nine or fifty years ago 
that Chickamauga became know^n in history as the bloodiest 
battle of modern times. In less than sixteen hours of real 
fighting the casualities on both sides reached the fearful total 
of 33,000 in killed and wounded! Judged by percentage, 
says General John B. Gordon, this nearly doubled the san- 
guinary records of Marengo and Austerlitz; was two and a 
half times heavier than that sustained by Marlborough at 
Malplaquet; more than double that suffered by the army 
under Henry of Navarre in the awful slaughter at Coutras; 
tlu'ee times as heavy as the percentage of loss at Solferino; 
five times greater than that of Napolean at Wagram; and 
in this American battle thousands fell on both sides fighting 
at such close quarters that at times their faces were burnt 
by blazing powder at the very muzzles of the guns! Looking 
back on it now, those few hours so crowded with death and 
glory seem to have flown at lightning speed, but when they 
dragged endlessly, held in check, as it were, by myriad piti- 
less demands for help which none could give. And the curious 
result of that most terrible battle of the Civil War was this: 
Rosecrans, thanks to Thomas, held Chattanooga, the ob- 
jective of the struggle, while Bragg was victor of a l^arren 
'field. 

Befoi'e going into this battle we must first bring the Reg- 
iment out of McLemore's Cove, which, at the time, was a 
rather difficult undertaking, as the reassembling of his three 
corps by Rosecrans was a tactical proceeding that even the 






so 



o 

U 




The Nineteenth Illinois 219 

privates could not make heads or tails of for quite a little 
while. The Commander of our army was detained in the 
valley two days longer than there was any need of — McCook 
took four or five days to do what he should have done in 
two — and Rosecrans had not concentrated his forces until 
the eighteenth of September, This allowed time for Bragg 
to receive another heavy reinforcement. Now from the 
Army of the Potomac, Longstreet's two divisions, nine bri- 
gades in all, and counting no fewer than eight or nine thou- 
sand real fighters. On the Seventeenth the Regiment moved 
at noon, marched seven or eight miles, then bivouacked near 
Crawfish Spring. Next day we did not move until four 
P. M., and then, after some marching here and there, re- 
turned to bivouac about a quarter of a mile from whence we 
had started. 

By this time both armies were in Chickamauga Valley, 
ours on the West side of the river, the Confederates on the 
East side. Undoubtedly the surviving boys of the Nine- 
teenth will remember that there were once such places as 
Widow Glenn's, the old Ross House, Snodgrass Hill, the 
Lafayette road. Crawfish Spring — half a dozen more places 
which we were fated to see during those few days in Septem- 
ber. The only roads to Chattanooga and our communica- 
tions lay through McFarland and Rossville Gaps, in Mission- 
ary Ridge — memorable ridge, as we shall come to know in 
another chapter — and for hours and hours the troops were 
marched through a darkness so thick that one could almost 
cut it, until we had taken position in line of battle for the 
morrow. Thomas was placed on the Union left, and he was 
told that he should be properly reinforced if it took all the 
rest of the army to do it; McCook was on the Right, and Crit- 
tenden in reserve, so to speak. Rosecrans was able to bring 
into the action about 60,000 men and Bragg had at least 
10,000 more; then followed one of the greatest combats re- 



220 The Nineteenth Illinois 

fortlod ill liistory. In it the losses in killed, wounded and 
missing amounted to the awful total of nearly 33,000, or 
about f)ne in every four engaged! 

Words could never convey an adequate picture of the 
almost countless assaults and repulses, the daring courage, 
the grim grap])les in hand to hand collisions, the uni)aral- 
leled slaughter and agon}' of those few hours of battle half 
a century ago. The valor displayed on both sides was never 
surpassed in civilized or barbaric warfare. It was a c()nil)at 
of the Brave against the Brave, quite sufficient to immo]'- 
talize every soldier who fought at Chickamauga. The Con- 
federate Cleneral Hindman, in his report, and speaking of the 
struggle on the second day, says: "I have never known Fed- 
eral troops to fight so well. It is just to say also, that I 
never saw Confederate soldiers fight better." The Nine- 
teenth Illinois, on this great occasion, was in the Second 
Brigade, Second (Negley's) Division, Fourteenth Army 
Corps, George H. Thomas connnauding. With us in the 
Brigade were the Eleventh Michigan, the Eighteentli Ohio, 
and Battery :\I, First Ohio Light Artillery. The First 
Brigade of our Division was commanded by Brigadier- 
(ieneral John Beatty, and with him were our dear old friends 
of Company G, now Bridges' Battery, of great renown. 
The Third Division was that of Brigadier General John M. 
Brannan, while the Fourth was under Major (leneral Joseph 
J. Reynolds, and one of his brigades was led by Brigadier 
General John B. Turchin, our first and ever beloved Colonel, 
the famous Russian soldier. The total casualties of the 
Fourteenth Corps alone during those two days were more 
than 9,000. 

During the first day Negley's Division did not partici- 
pate until late in the afternoon, when, moving from Widow 
Cdenn's house to the front, it met a portion of the Con- 
federate force which broke between Davis and Van Cleve's 



The Nineteenth Illinois 221 

Divisions, and drove them back, the Nineteenth participat- 
ing in the sharp melee, after which we took position and 
remained on our arms all night. The morning of September 
20, about 7 A. M., according to the Regimental returns fur- 
nished by Comrade Young, we moved to the left for two 
miles or so, and then, with the Brigade, went into action 
about 10 A. M. "Charging across a field we drove the enemy 
in great disorder through the woods nearly half a mile, cap- 
turing Brigadier General Adams of the Confederate Army, 
and a number of his men, Adams surrendering to Captain 
Pres. Guthrie, of Company K. The enemy being heavily 
reinforced, then opened on us with a battery loaded with 
grape and cannister, and, being without support, we retired 
slowly, in good order,^the Confederates following closely for 
some distance. When the brigade was reformed, we moved 
to the crest of 8nodgrass Hill, where we were constantly 
engaged with the foe from about noon till nearly 7 P. M., 
under a most terrific fire. At about four o'clock Grade's 
Brigade of Buckner's Corps charged upon us with desperate 
energy, but were driven back with heavy loss, and after 
making several furious attempts upon our position, during 
which they at one time planted their colors within a hundred 
yards of our own, they were driven down the hill by the de- 
termined valor of our men. Twice our brigade exhausted 
its supply of ammunition, but was supplied, once by Beatty's 
force, the second time from the cartridge boxes of the killed 
and wounded. The ammunition of the prisoners taken on 
the hill was also used in its defence. The enemy finally 
abandoned the attempt to dislodge us, having sustained a 
tremendous loss in killed and wounded, also many prisoners. 
At about eight o'clock in the evening, after the enemy's fire 
had ceased for more than an hour, the Regiment, with the 
other troops, retired from the field, silently and in good order, 
marched down the road toward Chattanooga, and bivouacked 



222 The Nineteenth Illinois 

about t'leveii P. M. at Ro.ssville. The Tweuly-liist we 
moved at 6 A. M., inarched about a mile, then took position 
on the top of a hill, where we remained until nearly mi(lni{2;ht, 
when we quietly withdrew, marched to Chattanooga, a 
distance of five miles, reaching that city at three o'clock in 
the morning of the twenty-second and bivouacked for the 
rest of the night. " 

Now that would be but scant account of the Nineteenth's 
parti('ii)ation in the greatest battle of the war if we left it 
there; fortunately, however, we are able to give much fuller 
details of its doings at Chickamauga. It must be remem- 
bered that our Regiment was in vStanley's brigade, Negley's 
Division, Thomas' Fourteenth Corps. History says that 
during the night of September 19, Bragg brought all his in- 
fanti-y across the river, or creek, placed Longstreet on his 
Left, and Polk on his Right, and soon after nine o'clock on 
Sunday morning, the twentieth, he attacked vigorously. 
Thomas held his own as sturdily as before, but was obliged 
to call for reinforcements, whereupon Roseci'ans weakened 
Ills i-ight to support him. Then a catastrophe occurred 
which really gave the battle to the enemy. 

Near the center of our line where the shock of combat had 
not yet arrived three divisions were posted in zigzag fashion. 
The first of these was Reynold's Division ; next on the i-ight 
was Brannan's, considerably refused to the right and hidden 
among the trees; next was Wood's Division, nearly at right 
angles to that of Brannan. Through some misunderstanding 
Rosecrans heard there was a gap in his line and he sent an 
Aide-de-Camp to oi(l(>r Wood to close up on Reynold's as 
fast as possil)le and support the latter. If he had said,' 
"Close up on Brannan," all would have gone well; for how 
could Wood close up on Reynold's when there was Brannan's 
entire division between them? Wood knew he could not 
close uj) on Reynold's, l:)ut he might support him by passing 



The Nineteenth Illinois 223 

around Brannan's rear, and this was what he did, thus leav- 
ing a great empty space in the middle of the battle front. 
Just at that moment Longstreet received orders to attack 
our force, and as he at once discovered this gap in our lines 
he poured into it several of his brigades, one after another, 
an overwhelming mass. The whole right wing thus taken 
on its flank, was swept off the field in utter and hopeless rout. 
Rosecrans himself was caught in the fleeing throng and 
whirled away, and so were McCook and Crittenden. The 
cannon of the right were now nearly all in the hands of the 
enemy, and more than half the Union army in full flight. 
Fortunately, however, it was not the right wing that held 
the key of the position. Over on the left Thomas was hold- 
ing that key, and if he lost it the Army of the Cumberland 
would be annihilated; Chattanooga would be lost, and the 
Confederates, flushed with a victory compared to which 
even Chancellorsville was nothing, would in a few weeks 
plant their batteries before Nashville, perhaps before Cin- 
cinnati. Such was the issue which rested that afternoon 
upon the shoulders of one man. It was a crisis scarcely less 
terrible than that of Gettysburg. But the occasion was 
never found to which George H. Thomas proved unequal. 
The more disasters thickened about him, the more grandly 
did he defy them.* 

The extent of the disaster on the Right was first revealed 
to Thomas by the appalling sight of great masses of the foe 
coming toward his flank instead of the reinforcements which 
he had been calling for. About half a . mile in his rear was 
a curved elevation over which ran the Rossville road, the 
goal of the enemy's efforts. It was a rocky hillock rising 
steeply from the lower level before Rossville Gap, the only 
opening of any importance through the mountains back to 
Chattanooga, aud this height bears in history the names both 

*.Iohn Fiske. 



224 The Nineteenth Illinois 

of Snodgrass Hill and Horseshoe Ridge. To this ridge we 
fell back, and there, on its most favorable points, Thomas 
planted his artillery and i)laerd his infantry. There some 
Ui.OOO I'nion soldiers were pittetl against more than 2S,0()0 
Confederates, mad with desire to clutch the prize of war. 
For six terrible hours, our numbers lessening momentarily 
till half the Corps was stretched dead or wounded on the 
ground, we stood at bay, while in the midst of this fearful 
carnage our beloved Commander rode to and fro infusing 
his men with his own great s])irit, inspiring them with his 
heroic grandeur. Is it to be wondered at that those few 
thousand Boys in Blue should have so nobly helped to add 
the grand title of "Rock of Chickamauga" to that of "Old 
Pap" with which we already honored Thomas? 

"Again to the battle, Achians!" which rages loud and 
long, and where bullets, shells, and cannister are as "thick 
as autumnal leaves that strew the brooks in Vallombrosa. " 
Just beyond us, so close that we can almost hear their very 
words, and indeed we can their yelling, are the "Johnnies" 
under famous Longstreet, from the Army of the Potomac, 
firing as they advance in serried columns on our position, 
"(live them one more volley, boys, then lend a hand to 
yonder battery," some officer calls out, and the response is 
immediate, though we can't help thinking: Wasn't death 
near enough already? Wasn't there never to be any let 
up to this thing? Never to be God's Country for us any 
more? Were all the loved ones back j'onder gone for- 
ever? No time for thinking now. Get to work! And we 
knelt to fire. Then a forward spring toward those cannon. 
Boom, boom! here; boom, boom! yonder — both sides firing at 
point blank range. Jets of blazing powder jump down and 
scorch the earth round about. Look at those yelling Rebs — 
how they keep coming on! There's more than a million of 
them, if there's a hundred! Every man is l)y now a perfect 



w 



3 

c 




The Nineteenth Illinois 225 

machine. Him not to think, but to obey, to chug to liis gun, 
and to aim low. Bullets splash red mud — the earth had been 
made mire by human blood — into our faces, still we do not 
wince. Bullets, fragments of shell, grape, and cannister, 
sing over and around, louder than songs of Southern katy- 
dids, but no one dodges. What's the use? There goes a 
comrade down — antl there's another! See that fellow keel 
over as he aims! And the cannoneers — why, there's hardly 
enough of them left to fire the guns still standing! Ah! 
that's the third artilleryman to fall since the Captain spoke. 
The ground shakes and trembles; the roar shuts out all 
sounds from other parts of the line — if there is any left of it. 
If there is an Army of the Cumberland anywhere! Shells 
are shrieking, and cannister are cutting swaths of humans in 
the kneeling rows. Splinters off rocks are flying dangerously ; 
the blood-soaked earth is being dug up in chunks by ripping 
balls. If one had time to indulge in such a thing, one might 
think a tornado howling over the battlefield. 

Again the foe comes on in renewed assault; they come so 
swiftly that we can hardly count their volleying. The re- 
ports of their guns and our own are blended in a dirge of 
destruction, and the smoke of musketry and of cannon is so 
thickly spread over and about us that we can hardly see 
aught save those who are next to us. The shriek of shell is 
the wickedest sound of battle, but nothing makes the flesh 
crawl like demoniac, purring, whistling grapeshot and the 
serpent-hiss of cannister. Men's legs are torn from bodies, 
and bodies are cut in two. A shell takes, at most, only two 
or three men out of the ranks as it hits, but grape or can- 
nister mows down part of a platoon and piles the dead and 
wounded on top of one another. Through the thick smoke 
suddenly we see a swarm of men in Gray, not in battle-line, 
but an on-coming mass of soldiers bent on burying their 
bullets into resisting flesh. Cannon flash on them, and we 



22(> The Nineteenth Illinois 

vollc}' into them our best coinpliineiits of weleoine, amidst 
the screams of the dying as they advance. Brave men, those, 
by all the gods of war! But it takes brave men to withstand 
their charge. See! they are almost upon us. "Charge 
bayonets!" why certainly — here goes. All together — there 
was never another brigade that could do the volley and charge 
so well as ours — bayonets lunging in fierce thrust, metallic 
sparks flyhig as though from flints; and then, the front is a 
wild scene of fast disappearing masses of Gray seeking safety 
in sudden flight, leaving Mother Earth blackened and bloody. 
Soldiers have been slain so mercilessly that the ground is so 
thickly strewn with the dead and dying one cannot help step- 
ping on them for a score and more of yards; aye, for half a 
hundred, in every direction — except toward the rear. 

The issue of the contest is still hanging in the balance, 
however; for the foe, strongly reinforced, renews the attack 
again and again, and we have no help to call upon. Hold the 
l^osition until night comes on, is the unspoken slogan which 
beats in every Union soldier's breast. Joshua, in his great 
battle against the kings of the Amorites, bade the sun stand 
still; we pray that it may soon descend, and let darkness not 
only shut out the awful scene, but give us a few minutes in 
which to gasp for breath once more. Slowly but surely that 
darkness draws near, yet the rage of strife still prevails. 
Assault after assault is made on us by a heroic foe, and as- 
sault after assault is hurled back by heroes who hold the 
ridge. The sharper the attack the more determined the 
defence; and meanwhile the atmosphere is full of death. 
The melancholy rays of a setting sun are now shining a 
Ijlurred fai-ewell on the scene, but anxiety as to the issue of 
the struggle is far from settled. Will the combat cease with 
darkness, or will Longstreet continue it with night assaults? 
It is clear that the enemy are as exhausted hi body and 



The Nineteenth Illinois 227 

resources as ourselves, still none knows what those Confed- 
erates may do, and so we wonder as we fight on. At last 
their whole line — what is left of it — comes dashing upon us 
in rage and fury, firing as they advance, and giving that 
yell of theirs. With boyonets and clubbed muskets we meet 
them in fierce resistance. Knowing what yielding means, 
the Boys in Blue stand to it, nor yield a single foot of it, but 
see to it that the guns and swords of those in Gray shall fade 
away in the gloom, so that before us and half way round us 
all is quiet save for the groaning and the sighs and the pray- 
ers of the wounded stretched over the hills and fields border- 
ing the "River of Death," as Indians of long ago named the 
historic stream. 

And throughout these long and fearful hours it has been 
not only patriotism and loyalty, but an esprit de corps 
which held us firm. It was thus we came to be the 
pride and the boast of modern soldiers, the admired and 
beloved of our friends and fellow citizens, from the President 
down to the humblest person in the Northland. And it was. 
the last time the army then commanded by Bragg, after- 
ward by Johnston and Hood, ever advanced, in battle array, 
upon the Fourteenth Army Corps while the Nineteenth 
Illinois was a part of that incomparable organization. 

Comrade J. W. King, whose regiment, the Eleventh 
Michigan, was in our brigade, wrote some time afterward to 
the new Zouave Gazette of that second day's battling as 
follows: "Sunday, September 20, broke clear and crisp over 
the heads of the impatient combatants. Before daylight 
the men of Stanley's Brigade were awake and in line eating 
their morning meal of crackers and raw bacon. It was 
understood Rosecrans did not care to begin aggressive 
movements on account of its being the Lord's day, and as 
the morning wore away it seemed that Bragg was of the same 
mind. But the calm was only a forerunner of the awful 



228 The Nineteenth Illinois 

tt'inpt'st of l)attl(' which broke when Polk, tlie Bishoj) (Icii- 
eral, made his onslaught against the Left of Thomas' line, 
with a view' to getting possession of the Lafayette road, and 
thus prevent Roseerans reaching Chattanooga. Hard- 
l)ressed by overwhelming numbers, and being somewhat 
driven, Thomas was calling on the Conunanding (leneral 
for reinforcements, whereupon, about nine o'clock, Xegley's 
division was ordered to his assistance. The Second Brigade 
withdrew from the line and had proceeded toward the Left 
about forty rods when it was discovered that the enemy was 
pushing a strong column in to the space we had made vacant, 
so the command to about face and charge at doulile-quick 
was given. It was at once evident to the men that the race 
was on for the barricade which had been protecting us; but 
it was the Confederates who w'ere driven away in confusion 
and with consitlei-able loss. Then the brigade started again 
to the help of Thomas. We marched at quick time for about 
a mile and a cjuarter along the rear of the line of battle, and 
meanwhile the combat w^as raging fiu-iously. On i-eaching 
the left of Baird's Division, behind breastworks and fighting 
desperately, our Brigade formed in line at the edge of the 
woods at the North end of Kelley's field, at right angle to 
the general line of battle, facing the North. In front was a 
dense thicket of underbrush and small saplings; but to more 
effectively screen our position bushes were hastily cut and 
piled in front of the brigade. This gave the men lying 
behind the screen a clear view into the open woods in front, 
while they themselves were not visible to those advancing 
upon us. Geneial John Beatty now came up with a fragment 
of his brigade and formed on the right, thus extending the 
line across the Lafayette road. 

"The enemy wej"e driving the skirmishers in swiftly, 
yelling as they came. When within two or three rods of oui' 
brigade line the regimental Flags were raised suddenly, a 



The Nineteenth Illinois 229 

sheet of flame went from the muzzles of our suns, and a 
windrow of dead and wounded Confederates lay on the 
ground. Those who were not injured fled to the rear in 
in wildest confusion. Our brigade pursued them over sixty 
rods, across the McDonald field, capturing many prisoners. 
While this charge was being made Thomas was re-establishing 
his line in a new position ; and our brigade had barely reached 
the McDonald clearing when we were ordered to fall back to 
the right and rear. We had proceeded only a short distance 
when Stoxall's brigade of Breckenridge's Division opened 
a heavy fire on our left flank from the direction of the La- 
fayette road. Immediately we changed front, facing East, 
and a terrific fire was kept up for some time, the contending 
forces moving slowly to the South, with the enemy evidently 
trying to outflank our brigade. But on reaching a point in 
the woods West of the North end of Kelley 's field, and about 
due East of the Snodgrass house, the enemy disapppeared. 
It was here that the gallant and genial soldier. Lieutenant 
"Bifly" Bishop, of Bridges' Battery, gave up his precious life. 
"On the disappearance of the foe in front, the brigade 
again faced by the rear rank, and marching in a westerly di- 
rection, reached Snodgrass Hill at noon time. At this mo- 
ment the advance of Law's Division was ascending the hill 
from the Poe and Dyer fields, and a contest for the heights en- 
sued, which is set down, in history as one of the most desper- 
ate and determined struggles that occurred during the Civil 
War. Colonel Stanley had been wounded in the shoulder, and 
command of the brigade now devolved upon Colonel Stough- 
ton of the Eleventh Michigan. After the first repulse of the 
enemy the lines of the brigade were reformed, the Eleventh 
taking position along the ridge from Smith's Fourth United 
States Battery to the right, the Nineteenth Illinois on the 
right of the Eleventh and extending up the hill to an elbow 
or spur. The Eighteenth Ohio was posted as support to a 



230 The Nineteenth Illinois 

section of Smith's Battery near the Snodgrass house. The 
two regiments in Hne hastily got together all the rails, logs, 
and rocks which could bo oljtained ami constructed a slight 
barricade from behind which we awaited the coming one 
slaught. The contest was unequal, for it was sustained on 
the Union side by these two regiments, containing not more 
than five hundred and fifty men, assisted by about on- 
hundred other soldiers belonging to various battalions, and 
who were posted on the right of the Nineteenth. Small 
detachments from the Eighteenth Ohio were sent to us in the 
hardest pinch, but the total number at any time did not ex- 
ceed six hundred and fifty men holding their own against 
quite fifteen hundred, perhaps two thousand, Confederates. 
Then Steedman's Division of Stanley's Reserve Corps came 
up and these, with ^'anderveer's Brigade reached the hill 
just as the rebel divisions of Johnson, Preston, Hindman, 
Law, and Kershaw had begun a fierce assault along the whole 
Union line. There were charges and counter-charges, but 
the enemy held his ground until six o'clock; rallying every 
man that could be got, we dashed forward with a cheer upon 
the Confederates, Their flags went down, their line broke, 
and they fell back from the field. Our ammunition became 
exhausted during the fight and every cartridge that could be 
found on the bodies of the killed and wounded was distrib- 
uted among the men. About eight o'clock orders came to 
retire, the brigade was quietly formed, and we marched in 
good order to Rossville. " 

There can be no disputing of the fact that Negley's 
Brigades were all in the line which held Horseshoe Ridge 
against the fighting "Johnnies" that day. One was in the 
Gap, on the Ringgold Road, and two wTre on the summit and 
side of the ridge to the right and adjoining our brigade. 
Thomas says so in his official report of that brilliant defense, 
and no man knew so well as he. And in that report one may 



The Nineteenth Illinois 231 

read these words: "Brigadier General John Beatty and 
Colonel T. R. Stanley, commanding brigades of Negley's 
Division, bravely supported Baird's left on Sunday." The 
obstinate maintenance of the ridge on the right until after 
sunset had brought ours and Beatty 's brigade into close 
company, and most certainly both did their share in saving 
Rosecran's army from total rout. 

Never was a higher heroism displayed than on that 
portion of the field, and in naming some of those who 
fought near or under him, Beatty especially mentions Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Alexander W. Raff en, of the Nineteenth 
Illinois, as among "men who deserve the gratitude of the 
Nation for an exhibition on this occasion of determined cour- 
age which is unsurpassed in the history of the Rebellion." 
And Stanley, brigade commander until he was wounded, 
says in his official report that "Raff en's Regiment was ever 
in the hottest of the fight." And General Alexander, 
Longstreet's Chief of Artillery, in his admirable book, 
"Military Memoirs of a Confederate," says: "The bayonet 
was sometimes used, and men were killed with clubbed mus- 
kets. This was kept up from two to six P. M., during which 
time the infantry fire was incessant and tremendous. " And 
Negley, WTiting to General Hunter at Washington, after 
calling his attention to the fact that over seven hundred of 
his men were left on this sanguinary field, says : "The enemy 
counts not the battle-grimed, bullet-torn standards of the 
Second Division among its trophies, but remembers with 
grief its splendid discipline and glorious charges." 

Long after the battle Captain James G. Campbell, of 
Company F, Nineteenth Illinois, wrote for the Zouave Ga- 
zette the following spirited account of the part taken by our 
Regiment as he remembered it, in that awful engagement: 
"It was Sunday forenoon, the twentieth of September, that 
the Regiment, with others of our brigade — commanded by 



232 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Colonel Stanley — was taken from its position and oiderod to 
the extreme left, (leneral Roseenins rode past, and, ^ivinji; 
some instructions, ordered the three regiments to be formed 
in double colunni. The fight was raging in front, which 
was thickly wooded, so that the line of battle was hid from 
us, although the sound of it was painfully distinct. Shells 
were falling thickly, striking where we formed, plowing the 
ground, throwing uj) dirt and stone, sometimes crashing into 
fences and sending si)lintei's everywhere. Straggling lines 
of wounded men were emerging from the woods in front by 
various paths. We continued our march toward the left, 
rushing forward, although it was difficult to tell just where 
we were. Then, still in the same formation of double col- 
unni, we were halted and ordered to lie down, and were at 
once under a heavy artillery fire from the enemy. The 
shells and balls were crashing through the trees, also over 
and around us, and with nothing to do but hug the ground 
the situation was far from comfortable. Cletting tired of a 
prostrate position, also becoming careless, and wishing to 
see anything that might be seen, I sat up. Just then Cor- 
poral Boyer of my company raised himself on his hand and 
arm, looked over my shoulder, and, seeing me sitting there, 
smiled and nodded ])leasantly. Before lying down again he 
shook his head, still smiling — I had almost said sweetly, 
for, with the noblest manly courage, he had the soft beauty 
of a girl. The shake of the head and the smile seemed to 
say, 'This place is unhealthy, but what do we care.' That 
was his last nod and smile to me, probably the last of all. 

"The camionade slackened, then ceased. Our cohnnns 
were deployed and we were advancing in lin(> to whei'e the 
ground was more open. The i-egiments on our light and 
left were thiown in advance of us on either side ahout fifty 
to one hundi-(d yards, but we were under a heavy hre of 
musketry. The musket balls like bumble bees went singing 



The Nineteenth Illinois 233 

by, with an occasional patter and spat as they found a mark 
on human flesh. Now and again a subdued exclamation of 
pain was heard. The singing of those bumble bees was more 
trying to the nerves than the crash of the artillery to which 
we had just been exposed. The firing line of the enemy was 
advancing on us steadily. Regiments on our flanks seemed 
to be engaged; and then the foe was upon us, their colors 
flying gaily, their line firm and unbroken, firing by files as 
they advanced, and in the intervals the pufTs of their guns 
were plainly seen. In an instant the eye took in the whole 
situation. Instinctively every musket in our regiment was 
brought to the position of aim, and the next command, un- 
military and informal, but emphatic, was 'Boys, give it to 
them!' At the word a sheet of fire and rain of lead burst 
in the face of the oncoming enemy. The next command was 
also informal. 'Forward!' and with a yell, the Nineteenth 
was through and beyond the smoke of their own discharge, 
beyond the line of the wounded and dying of the Confeder- 
ates, mingling now with the fugitives. The line but a mo- 
ment ago advancing so strong and so bravely, is utterly 
broken; and the pursued who are outstripped in the race 
fall to our rear as prisoners of war. 

''At such a time it is difficult to preserve anything like 
organization. There are some anxious and able to advance 
rapidly, while others are neither anxious nor able, and, be- 
tween the two extremes there are all grades of celerity. In 
the scattered condition produced by these causes, the Nine- 
teenth, with portions of the other two regiments that had 
also joined in the pursuit, was scattered over a quarter of a 
mile through open woods, the advance getting as far as an 
open field. In it, on the top of a ridge, and about three 
hundred yards off, was a rebel battery — guns silent and 
apparently deserted. Some of the boldest spirits wanted 
to charge the guns and capture them, as only a handful 



234 The Nineteenth Illinois 

of nuMi c'oukl be seen there; l)ut indications showed that 
a force was concealed behind those cannon, and the more 
cautious, fearinji- a trap, discoui-aged the attempt. While 
we yet wavered those guns suddenly began to belch rounds 
of cannister on us. We at once fell back into the woods, 
missiles of death swiftly following us, crushing after and past 
us, but there was no excitement, for that of seeming victory 
had spent itself. Now the pulse was toned down and regular. 
A musket ball might have singed one's cheek without causing 
a deflection of the head; a shell might have burst within a 
few feet without producing perceptible change or gait or 
direction, if perchance the man was unhurt. 

•'Al)()ut midway between the place where the charge 
began and where the advance pursuers halted, our (^olors 
were planted, and the Regiment was reformed, a work of 
some difficulty, especially as a fresh line of Rebel Infantry 
began to advance on us from our left front. We seem to 
have had orders to retire; how they came or from whom was 
not apparent, and in some disorder, but without panic, we 
fell back; the Color-bearers becoming separated, one part 
of our Regiment rallied by the State flag, while another 
rallied on the National flag; both parts were shortly after- 
ward reunited on the left of the ridge where Thomas made 
his final stand the afternoon of that second day of hard fight- 
ing. Our Regiment, as with all the regiments which were 
gathered there, was sadly reduced in numbers, many having 
fallen — killed or wounded. 

"A mere boy, who did not seem to be more than fifteen 
years of age, of what regiment or State I cannot now tell, 
came to my company and taking his place in the ranks, said : 
'('ai)tain, I have lost my own regiment, may I not stay and 
fight with yours?' The slight, slim youth was received 
with a smile, while a thought flashed back to ' God's country, ' 
and 1 wondered if some fond mother there, with continually 



The Nineteenth Illinois 235 

ebbing and flowing hopes and fears, was not waiting for 
tidings of her darhng soldier boy. We were placed in sup- 
port of a battery on the left of the ridge which was firing at 
masses of the enemy dimly visible off in the woods, but there 
were unseen enemies nearer who were picking off the gun- 
ners and our men, and suddenly I heard the stranger ex- 
claim: 'They have shot me!' laying a peculiar emphasis 
on the me, as if he had thought that could hardly be possible. 
How badlly he was wounded I never knew ; but it made my 
heart ache to think that the dear young chap had to be left, 
perhaps to die without a hand to help or voice to soothe, while 
friends and relatives would have felt it a never ending source 
of satisfaction could that have diminished his sufferings. 

"This was where General Thomas made his final stand 
on that hard-fought field. The Right and Center of the 
army were scattered and broken, and Rosecrans himself, with 
the fragments, was borne away towards Chattanooga; but 
Thomas, like a rock, stood in front of the advancing foe. 
Every man with him was a soldier tried and true, and Bragg 
dared not to pass in pursuit of the fugitive and broken masses 
for Thomas would have fallen at once on his flank and rear. 
The enemy dared not advance too far without first crushing 
our line, and time and again they made that effort, but were 
as often driven back. The September sun was getting low, 
there w^as a lull in the battle, the Confederates were organ- 
ized for the last desperate assault. On the Union side anx- 
ious eyes were cast at the sun, and the silent prayer of those 
tried and worn soldiers was li^e to Wellington's 'God send 
night, or Blucher!' and, as if in answer to that prayer, away 
down the valley on the left the sheen of arms in the declining 
light is seen. Eyes are strained in that direction and mov- 
ing masses of blue begin to be discerned dimly. Nobly 
they come on ; a thin line of skirmishers is seen in front ; and 
grand the columns move as if on parade. The word is passed 



2:^() The Nineteenth Illinois 

' It is Burnside from Knoxville!' and a wild sliout of welcome 
bursts from these heroes on tlie hill; and away off yonder 
in the valley the wavinji; of the Colors seem to jiive answer to 
our huzzas. 

"Realizing that at last a strong effort must be made to 
overwhelm his stubborn foe before these reinforcements 
arj'ived, the Confederates dashed fiercely forward, and our 
wearied men, with annnunition almost gone, braced them- 
selves for the terrible onslaught. Officers are busy distribut- 
ing cartridges, taking from those who can spare and giving to 
them who need, Bragg's force now presses against our whole 
front and overlaps our flanks. There is a loud and inces- 
sant booming of artillery and rattle of nuisketry. Our line 
bends and sways as parts are driven in by the enemy, who 
in turn are driven l^ack. There is a long hollow or ravine 
leading up into al)out the center of our position and masses of 
the foe are pushed through it. The Union soldiers there are 
breaking and the enemy are pouring into the gap, when those 
reinforcements under Granger — it w-as he, not Burnside, who 
had come to the aid of Thomas — were thrown into the gap 
and nobly they did their work. Even yet I seem to hear 
the awful crash of arms as thej^ stem that inflowing tide of 
Rebel hosts and send it rolling back upon itself. For a 
time, I cannot tell how long, for every instant was crowded 
with events, the tide of wai' broke and gathered along that 
wooded though open ridge. Union Flag and Southern 
cross nodded defiance, so close sometimes that the staffs 
if extended could almost touch. On the extreme left Rebels 
are working around to our rear; a flank fire is opened on us, 
and the Boys in Blue are sullenly giving away, but only a 
short distance, how^ever. They turn and stand at bay 
again. A little band — I think it was an Ohio regiment — 
makes a charge on our left, bearing the National Flag in 
front. The Colors of the Nineteenth are seized by an 



The Nineteenth Illinois 237 

officer, and he, with the Ohio Color bearer, dash to where the 
Confederate colors stand; and to these sudden movements 
there is immediate response by our regiment. For an in- 
stant Confederate and Union standards might have min- 
gled folds, but for an instant only, as the awful suspense 
is quickly over. The balance so evenly poised is turned. 
The enemy 's flag is lowered in haste and rapidly but bravely 
carried away; but not all its defenders go with it, for thickly 
are strewn the wounded and the dead. We heard that these 
were Longstreet's men; indeed the wounded told us so; and 
this we knew, that they had made a desperate charge and 
a most determined stand. 

''Along the whole line the Confederates have now retired, 
and it may be said that the fight is over. The sun is down 
and darkness is gathering. The soldier is hungry and weary. 
He has perhaps an empty haversack, but he would fain lay 
down and sleep. Yes, sleep, although still under the guns of 
his enemy and among the dead and the dying. We know 
not yet that our army is shattered; we know not that the 
Right and Center are broken and are miles away in Chatta- 
nooga. We think of renewing in the morning the fight with 
these obstinate 'Johnnie Rebs' and driving them farther 
down into Dixie, as we did at Murfreesboro, and on other 
fields where, like now, the rebel onslaught had been fierce 
for the Union host to bear, yet in the end Northern deter- 
mination had proved too much for Southern bravery. But 
dark suspicion crosses the mind when we see our cannon 
with muffled wheels begin moving in silence to the rear 
and when, soon afterwards, the word is passed softly and low 
'Fall in quietly.' The lines fall off away from the enemy 
and orders are given to let no man leave the ranks on any 
excuse, and to carry every comrade along who is able to 
travel, without regard to company, regiment, or arm of 
service. Wearily and silently, but steadily, the shattered 



238 The Nineteenth Illinois 

ami mixed columns march for Rossvillc Gap, and before 
niidiiiglit our stopping place is reached. There, between 
the ridges of what seemed to be a cornfield (the ground is 
stripped and bare) we find sweet, refreshing rest, and sleep 
and dream of love and home. " 

Early on the morning of Febi-uary 21, General Forrest 
made a reconnaissance in the direction of Rossville, but was 
checked and driven ofif ; he then reported that a large part of 
the Union force was stationed at the Gap, that the road to 
Chattanooga was covered with fugitives, and he urged im- 
mediate pursuit, exclaiming that "every hour is worth a 
thousand men." But Bragg made no general forwartl 
movement; and that night Thomas marched safely into 
Chattanooga. A few days later when Bragg advanced he 
found the town already so strongly fortified that he con- 
sidered it most imprudent to make an assault on our posi- 
tion but drew an armed line around it, then sat down to starve 
us out. 

Comrade John Young, of Company E, was Lieutenant 
in command of Company C at Chickamauga. The second 
day he was seriously wounded, and. hi the language of 
Bret Harte, the subsequent proceedings interested him no 
more. But he has communicated some of his recollections 
as follows : 

' ' The most severe ordeal in a soldier's experience is not 
always met in the stirring operations of a sharp engagement . 
The excitement and active duties imposed in action do not 
give time for reflection. The incident which follows was to 
me the most trying of all that occurred during this campaign. 
I was in command of Company C during the Battle of 
Chickamauga. My comrades will remember that after the 
herce engagement of Saturday, September 19, 1863, the 
Regiment was ordered further to the left; and early in the 
evenhig we pushed into i)osition in open timber, after severe 



The Nineteenth Illinois 239 

skirmishing, which continued till a late hour. Here we 
bivouacked for the night. Soon after daylight next morning 
I was ordered with my company to relieve Company D on 
the skirmish line. There was a slight ridge on our front, 
the skirmish or picket line being posted so we could not see 
over or beyond the elevation. Soon after taking position, 
Adjutant Bangs came to inform me that the Regiment was 
ordered to withdraw from the line held during the night, 
but I was to hold the skirmish line till driven in, or relieved. 
There were no troops in sight on our right, and, as I recollect, 
the line on our left was some distance off. 

' ' Shortly after the Regiment retired the Rebels moved a 
large force immediately in our front. The intervening 
ridge and timber on the other side prevented our seeing 
them. The battle of Sunday had not yet opened, and an 
oppressive stillness was over everything. We were sud- 
denly startled by ringing words of command being given 
to the Rebel force opposite; every order came clear and dis- 
tinct over the ridge, we could hear the rattle of their accoutre- 
ments as they moved into position. We expected them 
every moment to appear over the elevation. It seemed a hope- 
less task to attempt resistance to such a force as we knew 
were near, and especially so when all our supports had been 
withdrawn; with no troops in sight to retire on. I looked 
along the thin blue line; every man was in position, covered 
by such protection as only veteran soldiers could make avail- 
able when on the skirmish line. The suspense was intense; 
the strain more trying than in the heavy fighting which 
soon followed. 

"For some reason the enemy did not advance, and pres- 
ently we were gladdened at the approach of a brigade of 
Michigan troops who formed on our right; a little later 
still more pleased when Adjutant Bangs rode up and 
gave orders to withdraw the skirmishers, telling me at the 



240 The Nineteenth Illinois 

same time where to rejoin the Regnnent. This move was 
accomjilishecl without loss, and after a short march we were 
again with our comrades. In the meantime, the great battle 
of Suntlay had opened on the Left, and, like a great wave, 
it surged along with indescribable fierceness until our position 
was reached. Soon thereafter we were hotly engaged, fol- 
lowing up the advantage gained by charging the enemy's 
line, which move resulted in the capture of the Rebel Gen- 
eral Adams, with a large portion of his brigade. ( 'ompany C 
went into action that morning with thirty-two muskets. In 
the charge referred to it lost in killed and wounded sixteen 
men. A little later, when in front of our line observing the 
movements of a large force crossing our front, but some 
distance off, I, myself, was wounded, thus ending my partic- 
ipation in this, one of the greatest and most fiercely contested 
battles of modern times." 

Captain David F. Bremner commanding Company E — 
no man among the survivors of our Regiment knows more, 
perhaps none so much, about this battle as he — writes as 
follows : 

"Stanley's Brigade was moved from its position in line, by 
order of General Negley, betw^een nine and ten o'clock on 
Sunday morning, to the left and w^ent into action near 
Kelley's field, reinforcing and sup])orting General Beatty's 
Brigade, then heavily engaged with the Confederates. 
Immediately on coming into line we went into action, driving 
Adam's Brigade back in confusion, the General and his staff 
falling into the hands of the Nineteenth. Being reinforceil, 
the enemy renewed the attack, and our Brigade was compelled 
to yield, which it did slowly, halting at hitervals, while 
presenthig a good front to the foe, until it took jiosition next 
to some log buildings on the brow of Snodgrass Hill, near 
the Rossville Road. The Confederates soon l)egan a fierce 
antl lietermined assault upon this position, defended, as it 




Lieut. John Young, Co. E. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 241 

was, by part of Battery I, Fourth United States Artillery, 
Lieutenant Smith commanding, which did its duty well, 
supported by our Brigade, and scattered fragments from the 
Eighty-second Indiana, Tenth and Fourth Kentucky, and 
Fourteenth Ohio regiments. 

*Tt was here that Colonel Stanley was wounded, w^here- 
upon command of our Brigade devolved on Colonel Stoughton 
of the Eleventh Michigan, who ^ays in his official report: 
'I advanced my command about fifty yards and drove the 
enemy from our immediate front.' The Brigade was then 
moved West to the Snodgrass house, and, passing in the rear 
of it, advanced to the hill south of the house, arriving there 
in time to join in repulsing an attack then being made. The 
regiments were then placed — the Nineteenth Illinois on 
the right, the Eleventh Michigan on the left — along the 
crest of the hill, where they constructed rude breastworks. 
It was, " continues Captain Bremner, "the only organized 
brigade on that part of the hill, although many men and 
officers from other regiments which had fallen back joined 
in and did noble service during the entire afternoon — every 
attempt to take the hill and every attack was repulsed. 
The assault by the rebels between four and five o'clock was 
most desperate. The foe succeeding in forcing back a part 
of the left of the Nineteenth and the right of the Eleventh, 
advancing to the rail breastworks. There was no confusion 
in the ranks of the troops forced back, however, nor did 
they retire over one hundred and fifty feet. The Eighteenth 
Ohio immediately advanced, and with its help we soon re- 
gained the line, which the Confederates had held not to 
exceed twenty minutes, if that long. Nor did they at any 
time advance beyond the rails. 

"We maintained this recovered position until after dark, 
and there we repulsed all the numerous assaults made by 
the enemy. Lieutenant Smith's battery was on our left 



242 The Nineteenth Illinois 

and Harker's Brigade on the left of the artillery. After 
some little time a volley passed over us from the right, 
whereupon Colonel Raffen instructed Captain Campbell to 
go over and warn whoever it was, that they were firing on 
their friends. Our men also called out loudly for them to 
cease firing on friends, and only the one volley was fired. 
Captain Campbell speedily returned and reported that the 
enemy was in possession of that point. The moon which 
had been shining, had now set, and everything was dark 
when orders came to retire. I could not say of my own per- 
sonal knowledge at what hour we left, as I did not consult 
my watch; but from the time the volley passed over our 
heads there was no more firing along the ridge, nor was there 
any as we retired. The monthly report of the Nineteenth 
Illinois says that 'about eight o'clock P. AI., after the enemy's 
fire had ceased for more than an hour, the Regiment retired 
from the hills with the other troops, silently and in good 
order, and bivouacked at Rossville at eleven P. Al.' 

**The Battle of Chickamauga successfully closed General 
Rosecran's campaign for the capture of Chattanooga. I 
say successfully, because it was the objective of the campaign, 
and the Confederates were defeated in every attempt to 
drive back Rosecrans and prevent the concentration of his 
army at Chattanooga. True, they gained a barren victory 
on the bloody field of Chickamauga. Bragg never would 
have fought there had he not hoped to dri\'e back the Army 
of the Cumberland, and inasmuch as he failed to do this, he 
was defeated. Rosecrans took and held the city, and at no 
time after did Bragg dare risk an assault. The Nineteenth 
Illinois did its full share of hard work in that bloody field, 
and, with our comi-ades of Stanley's Brigade, held its position 
upon Snodgrass Hill against all attacks made by the flower 
of Bragg's army till night closed the struggle; and our Bri- 
gade claims the honor of being the last command to leave 



The Nineteenth Illinois 243 

the ridge. Next day, at Rossville, it was again in line; it 
repulsed a vigorous attack of the enemy, and held the gap; 
in the early morning of September 22 it reached Chattanooga. 
Tired and worn out, but still full of grit and fight, the men 
bivouacked in front of what was later called Fort Negley. 
In all my experience with the Regiment, I was never so com- 
pletely used up, and I am sure every one in it was the same." 
In the Regimental Report for September already referred 
to, and which is dated at Chattanooga, October 6, we find 
only two hundred and sixty-two officers and enlisted men 
present for duty. It is certain that a few of these, perhaps 
a dozen, had rejoined the Regiment from an absence in the 
North, hence it is clear that the Nineteenth lost, in killed, 
wounded and missing, an average of one man in every three 
and a half of its entire force in the great Battle of Chick- 
amauga. This was the first engagement in which our old com- 
rades of Company G fought as a battery, and they covered 
themselves with signal renown. They fully maintained 
the standard of excellence and courage which their old Reg- 
iment had held from the start, and every soldier in the 
Nineteenth was ''glad all over" w^hen he heard of the gal- 
lantry and bravery that Bridges' Battery had displayed at 
Chickamauga. It was there that young Ferris fell with 
sponge-staff in hand, nobly doing his duty at his gun; and 
it was there that Lieutenant "Billy" Bishop was killed with 
his battery boys. In his death every man in the Nineteenth 
mourned the loss of a once beloved comrade. 



CHAPTER VIL 

PAGE 

Preparations to Hold Chattanooga 248 

Reorganization of the Army of the Cumberland . 249 

Condition of the Army in Chattanooga 251 

President Davis on Lookout Mountain 252 

Gen. Grant Arrives 256 

Facts About the Plans to Relieve. 

Battle of Lookout Mountain 258 

Battle of Missionary Ridge 260 

The Highland Guard 276 



The Nineteenth Illinois 247 



CHAPTER VII. 

Military history contains many a page descriptive of 
brilliant charges, but since organized armies first began to 
hurl themselves against each other in determined rushes there 
was never another such magnificent onslaught as that which 
is to be described in this chapter. MacDonald's charge with 
15,000 men at Wagram, and which gained for him the honor 
of Duke in Napoleon's Empire, was over easy ground, 
while that of Pickett at Gettysburg was made across nearly 
level fields. But the one we are about to witness will be 
the onset of 18,000 soldiers in blue uniforms across a mile of 
open lands protected here and there by stout rifle-pits, and 
by more than half a hundred cannon upon a mighty up- 
lift at the farther side of those open lands, then a hard climb 
up a steep hill, or ridge, from three hundred and ninety to 
over seven hundred feet in height, which feat called for the 
putting forth of all the physical and moral strength of the 
charging army. Missionary Ridge will ever stand as a 
Natural Monument to the Army of the Cumberland; for 
upon its high crest the soldiers of that mighty Union force 
set the crown of its immortal fame. 

The Battle of Chickamauga was a thing of the past, and 
Rosecran's army was now in a city overlooked by three 
great altitudes; the one known as Lookout Mountain, 
the second as Missionary Ridge, the third as Walden Ridge, 
on the other side of the Tennessee River. From that end of 
the Missionary Ridge range which rests on the stream above 
Chattanooga to the end of the Lookout range below the city 
is about fifteen miles, and the Confederates could now be 



24S TnK Nineteenth Illinois 

soon aloii^ this ciiliiv distance, all tho way from h^vol land 
to nearly three thousand feet above us, thus placing tho 
town and our army in a state of siege, and cutting off all 
comnumications with the exception of an inadcciuate and 
very muddy road running along the foot of Walden Ridge, 
down the Tennessee River towards Stevenson, our base of 
supplies, fifty miles awa^^ From this position in Chatta- 
nooga we could see the full length of our own and the Con- 
federate line, spread out like a spectacular scene on the vast 
stage of some theatre, and there we lay, cooped in by a foe 
which was determined to force our surrender or starve us to 
death. For it is said to be a maxim of military science that 
the army which can. besiege a position can always capture 
it in the end unless the beleaguered place is relieved from the 
outside. The tables had indeed been turned upon us to 
our great discomfort, but not for a single moment were the 
soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland discouraged or dis- 
mayed beyond endurance, and we "held our grip" on Chat- 
tanooga with courage and tenacity. 

As soon as Rosecrans reached the city he commenced a 
formidable line of fortifications, under the skillful direction 
of Ceneral James St. Clair Morton, of the Engineers. These 
earthworks were of such a character that Bragg could not, 
with safety, make a direct attack; and hardly had they been 
completed when our Brigade — the Second of the then First 
Division, Fourteenth Army Corps — was assigned to camp 
on Cameron Hill, an elevation between town and river, 
rising to an altitude of about throe hundred feet, from the top 
of which was a comprehensive view of all the country around. 
The seizure, })y the enemy of Missionary Ridge on tho East, 
of Chattanooga \'alloy on the South, and of Lookout Moun- 
tain on the West, immediately after his withdrawal from the 
field of Chickamauga, confined us in a compass of terri- 
tojy not to exceed three miles square, and it was here we 



The Nineteenth Illinois 249 

endured our greatest sufferings of the Civil War. The only 
possible exit was by a pontoon bridge to the North of Chat- 
tanooga. But Bragg had also gained possession of the left 
bank of the river to Bridgeport, by which he commanded the 
navigation of that stream, and of the roads along its margin 
opposite, at the foot of the precipitous heights which skirt 
the Tennessee. Our army was thus cut off from direct com- 
munication with the supply stations of Bridgeport and Steven- 
son; and this compelled the transportation of what little 
rations and fodder could be secured from the former landing 
in wagons over rugged ranges, by way of the Sequatchie 
Valley and Walden's Ridge. And, so weary, hungry, al- 
most completely surrounded, constantly harrassed by can- 
non shot and shell, we lay in Chattanooga, sternly defying 
the triumphant foe from September 22, 1863, until the 
''cracker line" was opened by the coming of General Grant 
and large reinforcements. 

Within less than a month after our arrival at that place, 
the Army of the Cumberland had been reorganized by the 
authorities at Washington; Rosecrans was made the scape- 
goat for Halleck's blunders, and the "Rock of Chickamauga" 
was placed in command of it. When this reorganization 
took place the Nineteenth Illinois, the Eleventh Michigan, 
and the Sixty-ninth Ohio were still together, in a brigade 
which included the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Eighteenth and 
Nineteenth United States Regulars, the whole commanded 
by Brigadier General John H. King; our old friends and 
fighting comrades of the Eighteenth Ohio, with gallant 
Stanley at their head, had been detailed to act in connection 
with the Engineers and the Pontoon service. It was Octo- 
ber 19th that George H. Thomas was assigned to command 
our army, and by reason of his promotion Major General 
John M. Palmer, of Illinois, was placed in charge of the Four- 
teenth Corps. In that Corps were three Divisions: the 



250 The Nineteenth Illinois 

First (ours) was coiiiiiiaiided l)y Brigadier General Kichard 
W. Johnson, the Second by Brigadier General Jefferson C. 
Davis, and the third by Brigadier General Absalom Baird, 
all of them l)elonghig to the regular army ; Johnson and Baird 
were graduates of the ^Military Academy at West Point, 
but Davis had been appointed from civil life for his services 
in the Mexican War. It is hardly necessary to say that these 
three generals were at first considerably disturbed in mind 
because a volunteer officer was appointed to the command of 
the Corps, but one thing is certain, they co-operated with the 
utmost gallantry and good feeling ever after in the continued 
success of the famous Corps which "Old Pap" Thomas had 
made illustrious. Just two days before Rosecrans removal 
General Grant was placed in command of the Military 
Division of the Mississippi, which command embraced the 
Armies of the Tennessee, the Ohio, and the Cumberland. 
Alive to the danger of the situation of our army. Grant start- 
ed with all speed for Chattanooga, and when he reached 
Louisville he sent this dispatch to General Thomas: 

"Hold Chattanooga at all hazards.'' 

The reply soon reached him: "We will hold the town 
until we starve." 

That telegram applied with particular emphasis to the 
Nineteenth Illinois and the Eleventh Michigan, because 
the exigencies of the situation had brought them, first to 
half, then to quarter rations; and then the capture of our 
own wagons in Sequatchie Valley by the enemy left us 
without a mouthful for two days. It was little Joe Wheeler, 
with his moi-e than 4,000 efficient sabres and several guns, 
who, after defeating the Union cavalry in detail, made a 
dash for, captured and promptly destroyed the provision 
train which we were so earnestly looking for. General 
Wheeler's successful expedition at the end of September and 



The Nineteenth Illinois 251 

first four days in October obliged Rosecrans to put his com- 
mand on scant rations, while the heavy rains soon destroyed 
the road along the river on the Walden Ridge side and we 
were compelled to literally live from hand to mouth, and were 
in fact actually in danger of starvation. 

The question of short rations or of no rations at all, was 
not the only thing occupying our attention just then, how- 
ever. The Confederates, being in possession of the sur- 
rounding heights, soon put all their artillery in position and 
attempted to shell us out of Chattanooga, and as we at 
first believed this firing would be most destructive there was 
the very dickens to pay, no doubt of it, for early in the siege 
great guns up on old Lookout were constantly pestering 
us with shell and solid shot, but in due course of time we 
discovered that these coming missiles could be traced in 
air, and we learned how to dodge them so skillfully that 
little harm occurred. Meanwhile along the front where 
the pickets were posted, "Yanks," as the enemy called us, 
and "Johnny Rebs," as we called them, were becoming quite 
neighborly. Whenever our officers were out of sight heaps 
of trading — salt or coffee from the boys in Blue for tobacco 
offered by those in Gray — went on unceasingly. 

So there we lay, not completely surrounded, it is true, 
still practically so, and powerless to relieve ourselves in any 
way, busy in the meantime at strengthening the earthworks 
of forts and rifle-pits, and meanwhile Famine stalked grim 
in the beleaguered town. Things came to such a pass that 
extra guards were set over the half dead horses and mules, 
that they might not be robbed of their very small allowance 
of corn which starving soldiers were not above stealing. 
There was but one line of communication with our distant 
base of supplies, only an unspeakable mountain road across 
Walden Ridge and the lower end of Sequatchie Valley, hub- 
deep in miry mud as the autumn rains came on, as they 



252 The Nineteenth Illinois 

did in October. Up and down this dreadfid way, where 
in peace an empty vehicle was a load for a team, toiled the 
miserable cattle which were drap;j2;inj!; the wagons that 
l^rought us a few stores from Bridgeport, where Hooker's 
troops from the East were now massed, waiting for oppor- 
tunity to get forward, and much of the time these wagon- 
trains were not safe from Joe Wheeler's cavalry. And while 
we were thus enjoying life, President Jeff Davis came on 
from Richmond to look us over, although we knew nothing 
of it at the time. Up on the summit of Lookout Mountain 
he addressed a crowd of Confederates soldiers, whom he prom- 
ised that the hostile army in the town below should not long 
prevent their delivering the State of Tennessee from its ene- 
mies. If we could not be whipped on the field of battle we 
were to be starved to death. Perhaps we might have died 
of hunger but for the keen cold air — that and the fortitude 
and patriotism which ever strengthened us — had it not been 
for the combat at Brown's Ferry, where Turchin's and Ha- 
zen's brigades won a decisive victory, and the fight at 
Wauhatchie — that strange phantom battle by moonlight — 
which enabled the army of the Cumberland and the Army 
of the Potomac (as represented by Hooker's men) to shake 
hands, rejoicing at giving and receiving timely aid, opened 
the river from Chattanooga to Bridgeport, and gave us back 
life once more. 

And we are reminded right here that it is necessary to 
explain the coming of the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps to 
our assistance from Virginia. The Army of the Cumber- 
land was hardly settled in Chattanooga when Assistant 
Secretary of War Charles A. Dana sent a telegi-am to Mr. 
Stanton in which the latter w^as informed that unless re- 
inforcements and provisions came in a few days, perhaps 
ten at most, would starve out our army and give the Con- 
federates control of the western gateway between the North 



The Nineteenth Illinois 253 

and the South. It was then that Secretary Stanton made 
one of those prompt decisions for which he was so famous. 
With President Lincohi's consent he ordered Major Gen- 
eral Joseph Hooker, with 16,000 infantry, nhie batteries, 
3,400 horses, but with no wagon train and ambulances, 
from the Army of the* Potomac to proceed to the help of 
Rosecrans. At 9:10 P. M. of September 25 the last of this 
force had left Manassas, Virginia. Every half hour a fresh 
train started, and the great caravan of locomotives and cars 
whirled over the intervening lands, a distance of nine 
hundred and ninety-four miles, to arrive at Bridgeport 
within nine days. Thus the Ai'my of the Cumberland 
was reinforced ; the defeat at Chickamauga was soon turned 
to victory; the Confederate power of the West was perma- 
nently broken; and Sherman's subsequent march to the sea 
was made possible. 

Extract from Clen. H. V. Boyngton's address before 
Army of the Cumberland Society at Chickamauga Battle 
Field, 1892. 

It is another of the myths of history — which are as thick 
about these operations as the fogs over Lookout in falling 
weather — that the coming of Gen. Grant had something to 
do with this opening of the river. True, he approved plans 
which he found perfected down to the smallest details. But 
these would have been executed exactly in their final form 
and time, if Grant had not been ordered to Chattanooga. 

The general plan of opening the Tennessee to the vicin- 
ity of William's Island was Rosecran's own. The details 
were committed to General W. F. Smith. He fixed on 
Brown's Ferry as the place for throwing the bridges, and 
General Rosecrans was engaged in the general reconnoiter- 
ing of the river below Lookout the day that the order for 
his relief from the command arrived. That very day he 



254 The Nineteenth Illinois 

had ordored Hooker to be ready to move up Ironi Bridge- 
port along the south bank of the river, and that night, upon 
assuming command, one of General Thomas's first orders 
was to direct Hooker to be ready to execute General Rose- 
crans' last order. Grant came, approved the plans already 
fully i^erfected and gave orders for thf-ir execution — nothing 
more. They were executed and the line of abundant supply 
was open. 

It is now possible to fix the responsibility for this lack of 
sui)i)lies at Chattanooga where it properly belongs. When 
that wonderful transfer of the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps 
from the Potomac to the Tennessee was ordered, CJeneral 
Rosecrans had a right to suppose that upon General Hooker's 
arrival at Bridgeport he would be able to co-operate at once 
for the relief of Chattanooga. Hooker reached that point 
October 1, and the same day was ordered by Rosecrans to 
put down his bridges and make immediate preparations for 
crossing the river to move toward Chattanooga. Then it 
was found that he had no wagon trains, and so he could 
not obey. 

The finely e(iuipped and thoroughly efficient field 
trains of these two eastern corps had been turned in at 
Alexandria and orders issued that new trains should be 
furnished at Nashville. 

Report of Board of Officers appointed by Secretary of 
War April 23, 1900. 

Conclusions of the Board. 

"After a diligent search of the official records the Board 
fails to find any evidence that General W. F. Smith was the 
originator of the plan for the relief of Chattanooga, Ten- 
nessee, by military operations to be conducted in Lookout 
Valley, October, 1863. On the contrary, there is abundant 
evidence in the official records to show that the jilan, which 



The Nineteenth Illinois 255 

contemplated crossings of the Tennessee River at Bridge- 
port and at the northern end of Lookout Valley, and which 
was successfully executed by General Thomas, October 26 
to 28, 1863, was devised and prepared for by General Rose- 
crans before relinquishing command, and that its execution 
was begun, under orders issued by General Thomas, the very 
night (October 19) that General Rosecrans was relieved 
from command of the Department of the Cumberland and 
without consultation with General Smith. 

"There is no evidence to show that General Smith took 
any part, whether by counsel or by action, in the opera- 
tions conducted by General Hooker through Lookout Val- 
ley, from the direction of Bridgeport. 

"In conclusion, the Board is of the opinion that the 
legend complained of does no injustice to the military 
record of General W. F. Smith. 

''John R. Brooke, 

Major General. 
"G. L. Gillespie, 

Colonel, Corps of Engineers. 
''M. V. Sheridan, 
Colonel and Assistant Adjutant-General. 
''The Adjutant-General, 

United States Ai-my, Washington, D. C." 

"Upon consideration of the case as presented by the 
Board, Secretary Root endorsed the record as follows : 

"The proceedings, conclusions and opinion of the Board 
are approved. 

"Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 
"War Department, February 16, 1901." 



256 The Nineteenth Illinois 

It was the coining of (Irani that opened up our "cracker 
line" again, he having adopted the plans already perfected 
by Gen. Rosecrans. The illustrious General arrived at 
Stevenson Octol:)er 21st, and the next day he was with us at 
Chattanooga. Early on the twenty-fourth, accompanied by 
General Thomas, he visited Cameron Hill, whereon the 
Nineteenth was encamped, to obtain a view^ of the enemy's 
position. The ]:)resence of these two great men soon attract- 
ed the attention of all the soldiers thereabouts, and we gath- 
ered around as closely a.^ we dared, to see, if not to heai', 
what was going on. It may have been the hungry and nerv- 
ous look of our boys, in part at least, which impelled 
Grant to say to Sherman that "Thomas's army was so 
demoralized by the Battle of Chickamauga, he feared they 
could not be gotten out of the trenches to assume the offen- 
sive, and he wanted Sherman's troops to hurry up and take 
the offensive first, after which he had no doubt that of the 
Cumberland would fight well." Right there before him, 
however, were the \'eterans who had stood with Thomas on 
Horseshoe Ridge in the fiercest tempest of bullets and shell 
ever encountered by mortal man since the use of firearms 
began without losing an inch of ground — from high noon 
till eight o'clock P. M. the twentieth of September, 18()3— 
and who were destined within a month to be the foremost 
to reach the crest of the neighboring Missionary Ridge in 
the grandest charge recorded in military annals! 

We were hennned in for another month, but we were never 
completely without food to eat after Grant's arrival. There 
was a fair shai'e of coffee, almost enough of hard-tack, and once 
a week about half a ration of beef w^as issued to each soldier. 
On one of these distributions only the stomach of a bullock 
fell to the portion of Company D, and not a single man of us 
knew how to prepare a dish of tripe! We were not wholly 
shut out fi'om news from home, or from the doings of other 



o 

o 

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a 

o 
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The Nineteenth Illinois 257 

armies, in the meantime. Undoubtedly food was scarce, 
but we managed to keep our health, and we held our ground, 
which was the main thing to do. It is a fact when provis- 
ions were scarce — the health of the troops was at the best. 
Money was plentiful with us in those days of restraint and 
hungry spells. Before starting on this Chickamauga cam- 
paign the army had been paid for several months due, but 
it was impossible to get rid of our thirteen per while clam- 
bering over hills and mountains, or while fighting the 
"Johnny Rebs" in the Valley of Death, and here we were, in 
Chattanooga, loaded down, so to speak, with Uncle Sam's 
Greenbacks, like the shipwrecked mariner who saw water 
everywhere, yet not one drop to drink; with us it was money 
everywhere, and no where to spend a single "shin-plaster." 

Meanwhile, at evening parade, on review, or strolling 
about town the Union soldiers at Chattanooga were gay 
and comfortable, but out at the front, on picket duty, 
watching the foe, they had to think of a true life-and-death 
game called War. Soldiers on that picket line could sleep 
very little at night, nor could they kindle fires to warm them- 
selves. Dark night is the time when men in service must be 
the most vigilant and wideawake. All on the picket line 
and at the outposts must take in everything. However 
tired they may be from their day's work at night they must 
not allow even a flying bird to pass unnoticed. Keeping 
their heads cool, they must use their sight and hearing for 
the whole army behind them, with the utmost vigilance. 
"Halt! Who goes there?" The sentinel's cry adds to the 
loneliness of an. anxious night ; and this was part of the expe- 
riences of the Nineteenth Illinois at Chattanooga. 

Sherman's troops did not arrive until the fifteenth of 
November. Two weeks later they advanced on the railroad 
tunnel end of Missionary Ridge, while the day before Hooker 
was doing more fighting than Grant intended for him to do. 



258 The Nineteenth Illinois 

and that, too, above the cloudsl "Fighting Joe" liacl three 
depleted Divisions, one from the Army of the Potomac, one 
from the Army of the Cumberhmd, and one from the Army 
of the Tennessee, in all about 10, 000 men, in his attack on 
Lookout Mountain. These divisions had never fought 
side by side before; and it was the first time that western and 
eastern Union soldiers had ever fought together. In that 
affair Hooker "made good," and in all the daj^s which have 
since elapsed whensoever Chancellorsville is mentioned 
something has also been said of the Battle of Lookout 
Mountain, which he fought the day and evening of No- 
vember 24, 1863. The next morning was clear and frosty. 
The clouds had vanished, and the sun rose bright and daz- 
zling, while twice fifty thousand eager eyes were turned up 
towards the great mountain. And over its sharp outlines, 
visible for miles and miles, high up there, a matter of nearly 
3,000 feet, on the summit of Pulpit Rock where Jefferson 
Davis had stood only a few weeks previously and told the 
Confederates that those in the town below would soon be 
their prisoners, there floated on the morning breeze the beau- 
tiful Stars and Stripes which all of us were offering our lives 
to sustain. Boys, can you not still hear the mighty roar 
of cheer after cheer that the soldiers on the plain below, 
themselves great dogs of war struggling in the leash, sent 
up to those gallant comrades at the top of Lookout? 

At about noon time on the day previous to Hooker's spec- 
tacular affair there had been a movement which at first 
looked like a review of part of Thomas' army, that of send- 
ing Wood's Division of the Foui'th Corps to gahi ])ossession 
of some low hills south of the town, about midway between 
it and Missionary Ridge, and occupied by the Confederates 
ever since our arrival_^at Chattanooga. Orchard Knob, as 
the main hill of this little group is named, was, in those 
days a rough steep uplift of say one hundred and ten or 



The Nineteenth Illinois 250 

fifteen feet in height, covered with a growth of small timber, 
rising abruptly from the Chattanooga Valley. It was against 
this defended hill that Wood's division marched; followed by 
tremendous rolls of musketry and the roar of artillery; and 
presently rousing cheers told the surrounding world that Or- 
chard Knob was occupied by Union Soldiers. Early in the 
morning of the twenty-fifth Generals Grant and Thomas 
established their headquarters on that hillock, as it was by 
far the best point from which to view the movements of 
the entire fighting force. It was from thereon, shortly after 
three o'clock in the afternoon, that Grant ordered an advance 
on the rifle-pits at the base of Missionary Ridge. The 
guns of Bridges' Battery gave the signal, and the men in 
blue dashed forward in line of battle by brigades, skirmishers 
in front, closely followed by reserves in mass. 

The big siege cannon in the Chattanooga forts roared 
loudly ; the light artillery and muskets continued the mighty 
sound; the cheers of soldiers mingled with the awful noise; 
the rifle-pits in front were ablaze, and from the great ridge 
the enemy poured down redhot flames of death and destruc- 
tion. The tremendous battle which was fought by the Army 
of the Cumberland as it was never intended to be fought was 
on. It had been preceded off on the right, at the East end 
of the ridge, where Sherman had placed his Army of the 
Tennessee the day before, by a furious engagement which 
lasted all the forenoon. "Old Tecumseh" was striving to 
gain ground, but he was doomed to a great disappointment. 
The height upon which he stood was isolated; a gorge that 
had escaped his reconnaissance intervened between it and 
the ridge proper, on the steep opposite side of which the Con- 
federates under Hardee were strongly posted, and to whom 
a large force of other troops had been swiftly sent by Bragg. 
Meanwhile the x\rmy of the Cumberland lying in the open 



2t)0 The Nineteenth 1 Illinois 

])lain, or N'alley, were waiting patiently for the expected com- 
mand and now that order to advance had come. It was then 
that the Nineteenth IlHnois — we had been on picket duty 
for three days — of Stanley's Brigade, Johnson's Division, 
Fom-teenth Corps, moved, with all the other regiments, 
to an attack which was to become famous in the annals of 
modern war. Four divisions, in all perhaps 18,000 men, 
made up our force; that of the foe was about 25,000, but they 
were stoutly entrenched, l)oth below and above. The ir- 
regularities of the ground w-ere so difficult that Bragg had 
declared a single line of skirmishers ought to be able to 
hold the heights agahist the entire Union Army. 

It would be difficult to imagine a grander theater for a 
battle than this open one where Union soldiers were to man- 
oeuvre against the Confederates. From the frownhig mass 
of Lookout on the South, to the north where Missionary 
Ridge abuts on the waters of the Tennessee, the numerous 
elevations, and the plain nearly two miles in width, afforded 
unusual, not to say unexcelled, opportunity for the j)omp and 
circumstance of war. The Union force arrayed for this dead- 
ly contest consisted, on the right of Cleneral Hooker's com- 
mand, three divisions; in the center Thomas had two divi- 
sions of the Fourth Corps and three of the Fourteenth 
Corps, under John M. Palmer; on the extreme left was 
Sherman, who had, besides two divisions of the Fifteenth 
Corps one from the Fourteenth Corps, and John E, Smith's 
division of the Seventeenth (^orps. Grant had decided to 
make a demonstration in force with his center, thus hoping to 
check Bragg's sending troops against Sherman, to whose 
assistance Howard's two divisions w'ere promptly sent. 
Baird's division occupied the left of Thomas's line. To the 
right of Baird came Wood, then Sheridan, then Johnson; 
the last was our division. It appears that the orders were 
to carry if possible, the first line of the enemy's works, that 



The Nineteenth Illinois 261 

is to say, the rifle-pits; there to halt and reform our lines. 
When the signal was given the Center moved forward on 
the double-quick, a long line of bayonets gleaming in the 
November sunshine, formidable, unconquerable. To Grant, 
Thomas, Granger and the few other officers and men on 
Orchard Knob, as well as to those in Chattanooga and upon 
the great ridge itself, that movement must have been one 
of the most wonderful sights ever seen in war. 

Missionary ridge rises to a height of from three hundred 
and eighty to seven hundred feet above the Chattanooga 
valley, and it was at least a fifth of a mile from where our 
force should have stopped to the crest bristling with cannon 
and a foe in solid ranks well entrenched behind stout walls 
of fortifications, and from whence came down sheets of 
destroying flames which at any other time would have with- 
ered those against whom they were directed. Across the 
wide field dashed the Union soldiers, nor halted they, except 
to catch their breaths when the base of the ridge and 
those rifle-pits were reached. Then on and up, up, ever up, 
toward the crest of the mighty barrier! No hesitation any- 
where, no faltering! None drops from the ranks save those 
whom missiles strike down ; and whenever a Flag happens to 
fall because the bearer thereof is killed or wounded, another 
hero seizes the precious emblem and carries it on and up- 
ward. 

Pausing occasionally to fire as best they can, the men of 
each division push ahead, eager to reach the goal where 
victory of endurance born awaits them. Hand over hand, 
as it were, regiments in Blue are fighting their way up- 
wards, not always shoulder to shoulder as becomes soldiers, 
but stumbling over fallen trees, rugged rocks, and other im- 
pediments; not stopping to succor the wounded or to note 
the dead, but steadily on, up, upward still, where the mus- 
ketry of the enemy is rolling like drums whence cannon are 



2C)2 The Nineteenth Illinois 

sending down solid shot and cannister; spuming the dull 
earth under our feet as we follow or lead the Flag and 
State Banner which every battalion bears aloft: and how the 
colors of the Nineteenth flared that day we shall see presently. 
The sharp hum of bullets, the hissing of grape and can- 
nister, the clash of accoutrements, the cries of "Steady, 
boys, steady!" as we rush forward and upward; the half- 
whispered words of comrades passing what may be last 
messages along; the groans of the wounded — these are the 
sounds we hear as we climb, whether in marching order 
matters not, so long as we drive the enemy back, and still 
farther back, into the deep woods beyond the frowning 
ridge. Run and shoot, shoot and run, both toward the 
enemy, who, meanwhile is mowing the blue line down as 
the farmer cuts his standing grain. The line of resistance 
becomes all the stronger as we advance; for by now the 
heavy climbing of this rugged and mighty eminence seems 
almost a thing of impossibility. The sky is partly covered 
with great clouds. Shell and bullets, grape and cannister 
are being spewed on the logs and rocks around and ahead of 

us like hailstones in a dreadful storm. And then the 

"Johnnies" turn their backs, leaving batteries on batteries 
behind, as we, the victors, clamber over their fortifications. 
Now Missionary Ridge is ours, and Bragg's army, the one 
that led us such a merry dance at Chickamauga, overthrown 
and broken, is in flight, leaving the dead and wounded in 
Gray to the care of those in Blue, who are giving vent to 
their satisfaction in loud hurrahs, some of the dear old boys 
weeping in their joy, little minding that in that one hour or 
so of assault and victory twenty per cent of their numbers 
had been lost. And now the Stars and Stripes are waved 
triumpliantly towards Chattanooga, and towards that 
group of commanding generals on Orchard Knob, all of them 
amazed as they never were before, or afterwards, all save 



The Nineteenth Illinois 263 

one to whom Grant had turned, when he saw us start to 
do this thmg, to sternly demand who gave his men their 
order to storm the ridge, and — 

"Perhaps they gave it themselves!" was the reply of 
"Old Pap" Thomas. 

Yea, verily, the whole Confederate force had been 
routed. Confederates threw down their arms and fled, or 
were taken prisoners in thousands; Bragg himself narrowly 
escaped capture. And so it came about that on the late 
afternoon of September 25, 1863, Hon. Charles A. Dana, 
then Assistant Secretary of War, and with the party on Or- 
chard Knob, wired President Lincoln: "Glory to God! 
the day is decisively ours. Missionary Ridge has just been 
carried by the magnificent charge of Thomas's troops and 
the rebels routed." 

Back soon came to him and us this reply: ''The 
patient endurance and spirited valor exhibited by command- 
ers and men in the last great feat of arms which has crowned 
our cause with such glorious success, is making all of us here 
hero worshippers." 

Read what the ever gallant and courageous confederate 
General John B. Gordon says in his "Reminiscences of the 
Civil War" if you would have an unprejudiced resume of 
that glorious and unparalleled onslaught. "Was it a mis- 
apprehension of orders, was it recklessness on the part of 
those seasoned veterans of Thomas, or was it the habit 
acquired in battle of never halting when ordered forward 
under fire until their lines were broken against the solid 
fronts of opposing forces? General Grant was amazed when 
he saw those lines pass the rifle-pits in furious charge towards 
the crest of Missionary Ridge. Both Thomas and Granger 
denied having given the order for such a movement. It 
was, however, too late to halt the troops; and most fortunate 
for the Union army that^the movement could not be recalled. 



2()4 Tup: Nineteenth Illinois 

Those l)rave men, without orders, mounted to the summit 
of Missionary Ridge, leaped into Bragg's intrenchments, 
l)iercing his hnes in the center, doubhng them to the right 
antl left, forcing the front in confusion to the rear. The 
capture of (),00() Southern prisoners, 52 pieces of artillery, 
and many thousands of stantls of small arms was an irrepar- 
able loss to the Confederacj'. Infinitely greater, however, 
was the loss of the prestige which Bragg's army had gained 
l)y the brilliant victory at Chickamauga just two months and 
five days before. Still greater was the loss which Mission- 
ary Ridge inflicted upon the Southern cause by opening the 
way to Atlanta." 

The storming and taking of Missionary Ridge is one of 
the greatest feats recorded in military history, and we, the 
surviving members of the Nineteenth Illinois, have the right 
to be proud of the fact that our Regiment was in that won- 
drous event. Go there to-day, attempt to climb the as- 
cent by any of the roads which lead from valley to summit 
of the ridge, and you will hardly believe it possible that an 
army of soldiers e\^er got up its broken and crinnbling face 
agahist the opposition of a stubborn foe, yet was that done, 
and our charge without order up the beetling hill, before 
Grant and Thomas standing on Orchard Knob a mile awa}', 
was such a spectacle as few human eyes have ever seen, 
and as few human beings have ever participated in and 
lived to tell the story. In his Official Report General (irant 
says of that charge: "These troops moved forwartl, drove 
the enemy from the rifle-pits at the base of the ridge like 
bees from a hive, stopped but a moment until the whole 
were in line, and ccmimenced the ascent of the mountain, from 
right to left, almost sinmltaneously following the retreating 
enemy without further orders. They encountered a 
fearful volley of grape and cannister from nearly sixty 
pieces of artillery, and of musketry from the still well-filled 



The Nineteenth Illinois 265 

rifle-pits on the summit of the ridge. Not a waver was seen, 
however, in that long hne of brave men. Their progress 
was steadily onward until the summit was in their pos- 
session." 

In those days of fifty years ago there were some famous 
war correspondents at the front, and among these was 
Benjamin F. Taylor, an inspired writer whose prose was 
poetical, his patriotism, courage and enthusiasm the equal 
of that of any soldier, and his accuracy the admiration of 
all army officeis. Taylor was at Chattanooga, he saw this 
wonderful charge up Missionary Ridge, and he thus pic- 
tured the scene in the Chicago Evening Journal of that pe- 
riod: "They dash out a little way and then they slacken. 
They creep up hand-over-hand, loading and firing and waver- 
ing and halting from the first line of the works to the second. 
They burst into a charge with a cheer, and go over it. 
Sheets of flame baptized them. Plunging shot tear away 
comrades on the right and left. It is no longer shoulder to 
shoulder. It is God for us all. Under tree trunks, among 
rocks, stumbling over the dead, struggling with the living, 
facing the steady fire of 20,000 infantry poured down upon 
their heads as if it were the old historic curse from heaven, 
they wrestle with the ridge. Ten, fifteen minutes go by 
like a reluctant century. The hill sways up like a wall 
before them at an angle of forty-five degrees, but our brave 
mountaineers are clambering steadily on. They seem to be 
spurring the dull earth under their feet, and going up to 
do Homeric battle with the greater gods. If you look you 
shall see, too, that these 18,000 are not a rushing herd of 
human creatures, but that along the gothic ridge rows of 
inverted A's are slowly moving up almost in line while at 
the advanced point of each angle is something that glitters 
like a wing — the regimental Flag. And glancing along the 
front you count fifteen of those Colors that were borne at 



266 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Pea Ridge, waved at Pittsburg Landing, glorified at Stone 
River, riddled at rhickaniauga. I'p move the banners, 
now fluttering like a wounded bird, now faltering, now sink- 
ing out of sight. Three times the Flag of one regiment goes 
down. Do you know why? Just there lie three Color 
Sergeants! But the flag — thank God! — is immortal, and 
up it comes again, and the A moves on. Swarms of bullets 
sweep the hill. The rebels tunil)le I'oeks upon the rishig line. 
They light the fuses and roll shells down the steep. They 
load the cannon with handfuls of cartridges in their haste. 
Just as the sun, weary with the scene, was sinking out of 
sight the advance surged over the crest. In a minute the 
Flags fluttered along the fringe where fifty rebel guns were 
kennelled. What Colors were first on the mountain bat- 
tlements one dare not try to say. Bright honor itself might 
be proud to bear, nay to follow the hindmost. Foot by foot 
they had fought up the steep, slippery with much blood; 
let them go to glory together." 

And a little while later Taylor also wrote to his Chicago 
paper: "The day after the battle of Missionary Ridge 
was Thanksgiving and we had services in Chattanooga — 
sad, solemn, grand. The church bells hung dumb in theii- 
towers, indeed; l)ut for all that there were chimes so grand 
that men uncovered their heads as they heard them. At 
twelve o'clock the great big guns at Fort Wood began to 
toll. Civilians said, 'Can they be at it again?' and soldiers 
said, 'The guns are not shotted and the sound is too regular 
for work,' I hastened out to the fort and the guns chimed 
on. A dim impression I had received before brightened as 
I stood ujjon the parapet and looked over the scene. What 
it was all like flashed upon me in a moment. The valley 
was a grand Cathedral. Fort Hood, the pulpit of the mighty 
minister, and far down the descending aisle in front rose 
Orchard Knob, the altar. The dead were lying there, far out 



The Nineteenth Illinois 267 

to the eastern wall, and God's chandelier hung high in the 
dome. There were the accents of praise I was hearing; 
thirty-four syllables of thanksgiving the guns were saying: 
'Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy 
endureth forever.' And the hills took up the anthem and 
struck sublimely in; from Missionary Ridge it came back 
again, 'Give thanks unto the Lord.' and Walden's Height 
uttered it, 'for His mercy endureth,' and Lookout Valley 
sang aloud, 'forever, forever/ and all the mountains cried 
'Amen!' " 

There was considerable controversy at the time, and 
there has been often since, as to which regiment or brigade 
first reached the top of the ridge, but that can hardly be 
of much consequence ; for no matter who may have first got 
to the summit, it was soon cleared of the foe, and through 
the night that fell after the battle closed Bragg's beaten 
force fled Southward into Georgia. The losses in killed and 
wounded were: Union, 5,477; Confederate, 2,518; and the 
reason why we suffered most was because we were so thor- 
oughly exposed to the fire of the entrenched enemy. How- 
ever words and figures give no idea of that unmatched battle 
of the Civil War, which, though attended with small com- 
parative loss, was more important than many bloodier 
fields; and seldom, if ever, was so much accomplished in so 
short a space of time. How it all happened no one really 
knows, and we never knew. About all we realized was that 
we had gained glory enough for one afternoon. There, on 
that sky-bearing crest from the long summit of which an 
exultant enemy had been looking hungrily down upon us for 
two months the Army of the Cumberland crowned the special 
work for which it had been created two years previously 
in a grand outbm-st of imperishable glory; for never before 
had so great a mass of brave and determined soldiers stormed 
such obstacles to beat another so great a mass of brave and 



268 The Nineteenth Illinois 

determined foes into utter rout ami maybe you who are 
reading these pages can imagine the thoughts which swelled 
our hearts as we chased the enemy hack and hack imtil 
he was driven beyond the bitterly fought and bloody field 
of Chickamauga. There we found the trees shattered by 
shot and shell in that other struggle of two months before 
still white and ghastly. The bullet-mown bushes still lay 
dead and withering, where they had fallen in September, and 
thickets showed the destruction where regiments and bri- 
gades had madly wrestled in the game called war. Broken 
wheels, wrecked wagons, exploded caissons, carcasses of 
mules and horses, torn equipment and clothing, shattered 
muskets and broken swords — the ruined remnants of about 
everything which soldiers use or wear were thickly scattered 
over a once terrible battlefield where the heroic work of 
Thomas and his Corps had saved an army, and which was 
now regained by those same troops that obeyed and fondly 
loved the only unwhipped commanding general of the 
Rebellion. 

"What thoughts swelled the hearts of the men of the 
Army of the Cumberland as they chased their enemies back 
over the bitterly fought field of Chickamauga to refuge be- 
hind the high walls of Rocky Face Ridge! Only two months 
before Bragg was hurling the hosts gathered from every part 
of the Confederacy upon Rosecrans' worn-out, ill-arrayed 
force in a supreme effort to distroy it, recover Chattanooga, 
and restore the prestige of the Confederacy. . . . Every 
step of these November pursurers must have brought back 
to them thrilling recollections of when the Lafayette Road 
had been the battle's fiery heart during those two mortal 
days in September. Every rod of it was consecrated by a 
brave man's life given for his country. Far to the right, 
toward Lee and Gordon's Mill, had been the awful tumult 
when Longstreet hui'led his mass of 20,000 men through 



The Nineteenth Illinois 269 

McCook's then disorganized lines. To the left were the 
rude log baricades and the trampled crest of Snodgrass 
Hill, where the lion-hearted Thomas stood all that Sunday 
afternoon, with Reynolds, Palmer, Johnson, Baird, Wood 
and Steedman; where Longstreet, Hill, Breckenridge, 
Cheatham, Buckner, and Cleburne had dashed out their 
men's blood like spray upon the rocks in fruitless beating 
on the firm-standing men of Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Wiscon- 
sin, Michigan, and Kentucky. The thin covering of earth 
thrown upon the hastily buried dead had been shrunken by 
the Autumn rains about the mouldering forms until they 
looked like clay effigies of the slain. So recently had the 
dead fallen, and so palpable was the field still with their 
presence, that it seemed they must be yet near, somewhere, 
the Confederates to bewail the failure of all for which they 
had died, the Union soldiers to exult over the complete 
triumph of their cause."* 

John Fiske, in his "The Mississippi Valley in the Civil 
War," and Dr. J. K. Hosmer, in his "Outcome of the Civil 
War," both speak of this brilliant victory as one of the most 
picturesque battles in modern history. The former says: 
"The immense length of battle-front, thirteen miles from 
Sherman's left to Hooker's right, the extraordinary difficulty 
of the ground, the dizz}^ heights scaled, the grandeur of 
the scenery, all combined to make it a wonderful spectacle;" 
while Hosmer calls attention to the fact that of all the bat- 
tles of the war, this was the only one in which our most 
famous four Union Generals — Grant, Thomas, Sherman, 
and Sheridan — happened to be all engaged. 

Long afterward Colonel J. W. King, formerly of the 
Eleventh Michigan — at the Battle of Missionary Ridge, it, 
with the Nineteenth Illinois and the Sixty-ninth Ohio, 
formed a demi-brigade under command of Colonel Marshall 

♦John McElroy in "Army of the Cumberland, and the Great Central Campaign." 



270 The Nineteenth Illinois 

F. ]\loore, and the several regiments of Regulars made up 
the rest of the Brigade, and were commanded by Colonel 
St ought on — wrote a long article for the Chicago edition of 
the Zouave Clazette, in which, after mentioning how the 
Brigade was withdrawn from picket duty and formed in 
line of liattlo with the other ti'oops in front of the Rossville 
Road and fronting the Ridge, when the forenoon and a part 
of the afternoon wore away in suspense, as meanwhile we 
were hearing the guns of Sherman far over on our left, 
he says: 

"It was the first time in all our service when the rank and 
file seemed to know as well as the commanding officers what 
ought to be done, and were bound to do it. Grant's plan 
of the battle was for Sherman's army to attack on the left 
and sweep around the edge of the Ridge in that direction. 
Hooker was to attack on the Right at or near Rossville, 
while Thomas's army, then composed of the Divisions 
of Johnson, Sheridan, and Wood — Baird's Division had been 
sent to the aid of Sherman — were to take the fine of works 
at the base of the Ridge and hold them until further orders. 
Had Sherman and Hooker succeeded on each flank, as was 
expected, the rebel army would have been doubled up like 
the shutting of a jack-knife; but the former did not accom- 
]:»lisli what was intended, while the latter was delayed in 
making his attack on account of the destruction of a bridge 
between Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Of the 
three Divisions of the Army of the Cumberland, Johnson 
was on the right, Sheridan in the center, and Wood on the 
left; later in the battle Baird's Division returned and joined 
Wood's l(»ft. Our Bi-igade lay in line of battle in the Woods, 
facing an open field in front of the Ridge, until an Aide 
came dashing up antl, saluting its Commander, Colonel 
Stoughton, said: 'The General Commandhig sends his 



The Nineteenth Illinois 271 

compliments, and directs you to charge to the hill.' There- 
upon the Brigade was marched obliquely to the left until 
it closed well on the right of Sheridan's Division. 

"By this time we had gained the open field in front of 
the Ridge, then 'Forward, double-quick!' was heard in a clear 
ringing voice, and 'Forward, double-quick!' was repeated 
throughout the Brigade, almost immediately followed by 
'March!' and the whole command sprang forward. But no 
sooner had these troops made their appearance in the open 
field than they encountered a terrific fire of musketry which 
came from the well-filled rifle-pits at the foot of the Ridge 
half a mile away, also a storm of shell and cannister from the 
top of the Ridge itself. It became a matter of life or death 
to reach and take the first line of the enemy's works. In- 
stead of continuing at a double-quick, the men of our Bri- 
gade passed through this shower of leaden and iron hail 
at the top of their speed. On reaching the rifle-pits they were 
instantly scaled and never before had there been such an 
intermingling of the* Blue and the Gray. Most of the Con- 
federates threw down their arms and were made prisoners; 
those who did not do this were either bayoneted or knocked 
down with clubbed muskets. A portion of the Confederates, 
when they saw the Union troops crossing the field, ascended 
the ridge aiid joined their comrades who were still in posses- 
sion of the crest. After the Brigade had remained in the 
works perhaps a minute, or a little longer, a voice rang out : 
'On, up the Ridge!' — whose voice it was has never been 
known, but no comrade in all the Brigade will ever forget 
it. These words were repeated; and 'On, on, up the Ridge!' 
seemed to come from all lips. Every man in that long line 
of Blue seemed possessed of a spirit to be the first upon the 
great crest before us. 

' ' The hill swayed up before the Union troops at an angle 
of more than forty-five degrees, and nearly three-quarters 



272 The Nineteenth Illinois 

of a mile of rugged inountain side must be passed before the 
summit could be reached, while nearly every rod of inter- 
vening distance was swept by cannister, nuisket l)alls and 
shell. The crest of the Ridge was a sheet of flame, while 
higher up in the air were fantastic wreathes or clouds of 
smoke from the enemy's musketry and artillery. Their 
artillerymen were familiar with the ground on which their 
army had camped for two months, and instead of trying to 
depress their guns and shoot straight down the ridge at their 
assailants they used them at right antl left oblique, and the 
air was filled with cannister, musket balls, grape-shot, shells, 
and screeching fragments. If the ordei- had not been given 
by some one to charge the Ridge, the plunging fire of the 
enemy from the crest would have made the pits at the foot 
of tht mountain a slaughter pen for the Army of the Cum- 
berland. In that shower of death's missiles on the Ridge 
side brave men fell by thousands, mangled and crushed 
among the rocks, stumps, trees, and logs, and still those who 
remained untouched kept fighting and clambering upwartls. 
Their advance was not only met by a deadly, continuous 
fire, but the mountain side was covered with rocks, fallen 
timber, bushes, and ragged ravines. It was every man for 
himself, and thus, by taking advantage of the formation of 
the ground, and the protection which nature had furnished, 
the summit was finally reached. And still it was not a 
rushing mob, for the Flags that appeared like stars in the 
sulphurous smoke of battle were the beacon lights to keep 
each comrade in his regimental organization. 

''Three times the Colors of the Nineteenth Illinois go 
down. Do you know why? Three times the Colors of the 
Eleventh Michigan go down. Do you know why? There 
lie six dead or wounded Color Sergeants! It is true, the 
immortal flags went down, but willing hands always and 
swiftly raised them aloft, though each man who did it knew 




Capt. Uavid F. Bvemner and Overcoat. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 273 

he would become the target for scores of balls. While the 
crest of the Ridge was a sheet of flame and a cloud of smoke, 
all up its sides the courageous Veterans of the Army of the 
Cumberland were pressing on. Above all this roar and 
crash of battle the Union siege guns in Fort Wood could be 
readily distinguished as they sent their huge projectiles 
screeching over our heads into the Rebel position, exploding 
caissons, tearing to pieces men and horses, and causing ter- 
rifying havoc. But this firing was not confined to the Union 
side alone, for more than seventy cannon and twice nine 
thousand muskets from behind substantial breastworks were 
sweeping the front of these four divisions which were steadily 
and surely pressing on. Then, as we neared the summit of 
the Ridge, the enemy gave way, his line began to crumble to 
the left, in another minute we had gained the crest, and we 
saw the rebels seeking safety down the Eastern slope of the 
mountain. Just to the right, however, the Confederate 
line was still intact, and not more than six or seven rods 
away was a semi-circular earthwork in which was a Con- 
federate Battery of five or six guns, that was still being used 
against our troops farther down the Ridge. There was also 
a support of three or four hundred Confederate infantry, 
who were keeping up a murderous fire on their coming foe. 
But when this detachment consisting of the Eleventh Mich- 
igan, Nineteenth Illinois, and Sixty-ninth Ohio, from our 
Brigade, got so they had clear vision of the Confederate 
gunners behind their refuge of logs and stones, we made it 
so uncomfortable for them that they abandoned guns and 
muskets and swiftly sought safety down the same slope 
where their comrades in Gray had preceded them." 

We come now to the personal statement of an officer in 
our Regiment as regards this memorable and most wonder- 
ful battle. Writing to the Zouave Gazette of January 31, 
1898, of the Nineteenth at Missionary Ridge, Captain 



274 The Nineteenth Illinois 

David F. Bremner of Company E introtluces liis communi- 
cation by describing some of the conditions which existed 
in Chattanooga after the Army of the Cumberhmd occupied 
that town. "Night and day the men labored on the forti- 
fications and in a short time a complete line of forts and 
ijreastworks enclosed the city so strongly that it would have 
been madness in Bragg to attempt its capture by assault; 
in fact it would have been madness at any time after the 
twenty-second of September, although, far from being dis- 
heartened or demoralized, our army would have welcomed 
an attack. The Regiment now settled down with the rest 
of the force to hard work and short rations, submitting 
(while claiming the soldier's privilege to grumble at times) 
to both cheerfully. Thus the time passed, alternate picket 
and fatigue duty keeping all active and interested in passing 
events. 

"About the middle of November the grape-vine dis- 
patches indicated that work of another kind was soon to 
begin, and that the long looked for day was near when the 
Army of the Cumberland would run the 'Johnnies' off 
Missionary Ridge. On the twenty-second of November 
our Regiment left camp on Cameron Hill and took position 
at the outpost in front of Fort Negley. Three days and 
nights were passed there, and the men became quite friendly 
with the rebel pickets; our lines were very close, at some 
points being only about fifty yards apart. During the 
Battle of Lookout Mountain, on the twenty-fourth, the 
soldiers on both sides were interested spectators of that ac- 
tion, till the settling clouds hid it from view, cheering or 
chaffing each other at the success of either force. 

"The morning of the twenty-fifth found the Confederate 
line in our front unoccupied, the soldiers having been drawn 
back during the night. The Nineteenth, with the Brigade, 
was moved from point to point during the day until about 



The Nineteenth Illinois 275 

three o'clock in the afternoon, when we were placed in line 
of battle in a wood fronting Missionary Ridge, and here we 
anxiously awaited the order to advance. Before us was the 
Ridge, its summit bristling with artillery, whilst lines of 
rifle-pits at its base and half-way up, manned by brave sol- 
diers, confronted us. But the stern faces of our men told 
that they were determined to overcome them all and gain 
the Ridge, or die in the attempt. Then, about half-past 
three o'clock, boom, boom! six times repeated; the guns on 
Orchard Knob were giving the longed-for signal! Forward 
dash the Boys in Blue ; the woods are soon cleared ; a stretch 
of half a mile of open fields lies between us and the Ridge, 
and there is no cover, no protection whatever from the 
storm of lead and iron which greets us. On, on, we go; no 
stop, no halt; a comrade drops here, another there, but the 
line moves on. The rifle-pits at the foot of the hill are 
gained and most of their defenders are taken prisoners. A 
short halt for breath, then again forward. Up, up, steady 
and sure, to the crest, over the breastworks — the Ridge is 
gained ! 

''The Army of the Cumberland did fight. Aye, did 
fight and did conquer, and the great Confederate army 
which for two months had been looking defiantly down on 
Chattanooga was defeated, driven from its strong works, 
and the heroes of Chickamauga were now the heroes of 
Missionary Ridge. The same army that was reported to be 
demoralized, beaten, and driven from Chickamauga; the 
same army of which Sherman in his 'Memoirs' says Grant 
told him 'The men of Thomas's army had been so demoralized 
by the battle of Chickamauga that he (Grant) feared they 
could not be got out of their trenches and assume the de- 
fensive.' What! the Army of the Cumberland not fight! 
That great army trained and disciplined by Buell, Rosecrans 
and Thomas! Which fought its way from the Ohio River 



27() The Nineteenth Illinois 

to the Tennessee at Chattanooga, and had nevei- l)(>en de- 
feated! Which had gained the objective point in every 
campaign! The army that, led by Buell at 8hiloh, snatched 
victory from defeat; which, led by Rosecrans at Stone River, 
held the enemy so stoutly that he had to withdraw from the 
field at night, the army — half of it at least — which stood 
with Thomas all that bloody Sunday at Chickamauga, and 
gave back blow for blow, and only withdrew after night 
closed the unequal combat, and Longstreet did not dare 
attack again ! Not fight? Grant should have known better." 
In the little New England village of Newton Center, 
Massachusetts, where the Editor of these pages now resides, 
there stands an old frame house on the main street wherein 
the author of the great hymn, "My Country, 'tis of Thee" 
lived and there he died a few years back. One day, in his 
home, while awaiting the coming of Dr. Smith, we took up 
a small book from the table and in it read, for the first time, 
an original poem by the author of the famous hymn just 
named, which was entitled "The Highland Guards."* It 
ran as follows: 

A song of the Highland Guai'ds — 

Souls brave and true. 
Born for the times of the bitter strife. 

When in the balance hung 
The Nation's life; 
And men inspired to dare and do 
Resolved to ])ress the conflict through. 



♦For writinK this great tribute to our Regiment, its Color Company, and Captain 
Hroinncr, Dr. Smith was unaYiimously elected an honorary member of the Nineteenth 
Illinois Infantry N'ctoran Club, and it was his privilege to be present at one of that 
society's meetings in after years. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 277 

A song of the Highland Guards, 

Prompt and prepared; 
First to espouse the righteous cause, 

First rising to defend 

The land, the laws 
With patriot hearts and bosoms bared, 
What toils they bore ! What hardships shared ! 

A song of the brave Nineteenth, 

Noted and known. 
With them the noble Highland Guard, 

Eager for honor's post, 

Kept watch and ward. 
Foremost for deeds of glory done, 
For battles fought, for victories won. 

A song for the brave Nineteenth 

And Bremner's band; 
Huntsville and Mission Ridge their praise; 

How oft they saved the day 
In fierce array? 
Victor and vanquished, hand in hand. 
Mighty to fight, of firm to stand. 

A song for the brave Nineteenth, 

Calls, loud and long. 
Summon the bravest to the front: 

"Where is the old Nineteenth?" 
Listen! their song! 
They muster, prompt to do or die, 
They come! they strike! The foeman fly! 



278 The Nineteenth Illinois 

A song for the brave Nineteenth! 

The Colors wave 
Wliere shell and shot — a cruel rain — 
Smite down — once — twice — again — 

The true, the brave. 
The men who bore the Flag may die, 
But Bre inner waves its folds on high. 

There is a story, two of them in fact, to tell apropos of 
this great tribute to the Nineteenth by the immortal author- 
poet. From an article written for the Zouave Gazette of 
January 25, 1887, by Hon. Edward Roby, whose wife was 
long an honorary member of our Veteran Club, an organiza- 
tion still in existence, and which has led many a National 
Encampment Parade of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
we take this extract: "Company E (the Highland Guard) 
was the Color company of the Nineteenth Illinois, and 
David F. Bremner was in command of it, being the Captain, 
at Missionary Ridge. In this advance three Color bearers 
were cut down by the bullets of the enemy. Captain Brem- 
ner says: 'We could not spare a rifle in that battle; if I- 
ordered a man from the ranks to take up the Flag it would 
silence his musket; and as I carried only a sword, I took it 
up and bore it on. As my head was over the last entrench- 
ment at the top of the ridge, the rebel officer in command 
pointed at me with his sword and shouted, "Shoot that man!" 
But the guns of my own company were close at hand and the 
rebs had no time to aim.'" 

But Bremner's overcoat was pierced by no fewer than 
fourteen bullets on that famous occasion, and this brings us 
to our second story. It is told editorially in the Zouave 
Gazette of January 25, 1888, as follows: "A surprise for the 
members of the Veteran Club and our Regiment, which we 



The Nineteenth Illinois 279 

feel assured will be appreciated, has been prepared by Com- 
rade Jacob B. Stanger, of Company D, and will be sent 
with this number of the Gazette. It is a photogiaph of oui- 
Comrade Bremner, taken in the now historical overcoat, 
which he wore at Missionary Ridge. The coat is pierced 
with twenty bullet holes, fourteen of which were received in 
the above mentioned charge. Bremner, it will be remem- 
bered, was in command of Company E on that day. Being 
the Color Company, the Regimental Flags were in his special 
charge, and well did he care for them. The Regiment had 
not proceeded far on that memorable advance up Missionary 
Ridge when Corporal Wm. Patterson the Color bearer was 
killed. 

Patrick McDonald of Company K, then took the Flag, 
until he was severely wounded. Sergt. George Steel carrying 
the State Flag, was also wounded badly, when John Bros- 
nahan, taking it from the wounded Sergeant carried it to 
the crest. When McDonald fell, Captain Bremner grasped 
the Colors and brought it up to and over the enemy's works, 
amid a shower of bullets, fourteen of which went through his 
overcoat; he also received a slight wound in his face. Before 
that, at Chickamauga, the coat had been loaned to Adjutant 
Bangs, and it was there it received the other bullet holes. 

Comrade Bangs lost a leg at Missionary Ridge. 

This incident of Captain Bremner and the Regiment's 
Flag is dealt with at further length in subsequent pages. 

Just a few more words, however, and then to close this chap- 
ter. As stated elsewhere, we lost Company G from the Regi- 
ment after the Battle of Stone River ; it became one of the most 
famous batteries in all the Northern Armies. Its name will 
be often found in the official records of both the Union and 
the Confederate operations, and always with distinguished 
credit. After Chickamauga, where it covered itself with 
renown, Bridges' Battery was assigned a position in Fort 



280 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Xegley, just outside of Chattanooga. And of this fine and 
unexcelled organization, Captain li. A. White wrote to the 
Zouave Clazette of January 31, 1898, as follows: 

"The succeeding two months was a period of exceeding 
depression to man and beast, owing to the great lack of 
needed supplies. Yet by extreme effort the company had 
been kept ready for active service, and when orders were 
received on the evening of November 23 to proceed to the 
advance line established by our Infantrj^ across Chattanooga 
\'alley, the battery was in prime condition to take the po- 
sition assigned to it on Orchard Knob, in line of Wood's 
Division. Din'ing the night the six guns were arranged in a 
semi-circle facing Missionary Ridge, the horses were sent 
back to Chattanooga, and everything was in readiness for 
lively work in the morning. Great apprehension prevailed 
in regard to the possible hazard of the movement, and this 
was made manifest in a remark by our Corps Commander 
General Gordon Granger, who kindly predicted we would 
'all go to h — 1 in twenty minutes after daylight, or make a 
name for life.' The Veterans were not one whit deterred 
by the possible danger, however, but hailed with delight, 
after two months of starving and rusting while pent up in 
Chattanooga, the opportunity to try their mettle with the 
forces which had caused them so much annoyance. But 
when morning came, no gun was heard except scattering 
shots on the picket lines, and so the day passed without 
serious interruption to the active preparations for the mor- 
row's conflict, giving added proofs of the wisdom of our 
leader — Grant — who always showed implicit faith in bold 
strokes to put in awe an armed foe. On the twenty-fifth 
Bridges' Battery fired the six guns which had been arranged 
as the signal for the advance of the entire Union line to the 
base of Missionary Ridge. 8o long as it could be done with- 
out endangering the advancing troops, our battery kept up 



w 



o 



H 








^ 






O 




The Nineteenth Illinois 281 

constant firing on the enemy's lines and works, with telhng 
effect. During this engagement one of our shells exploded 
an artillery caisson loaded within a fort upon the crest of 
the Ridge, thus putting a number of horses and several 
Confederates hors de co7nhat, and there was general destruc- 
tion of munition of war within the fort. From the time 
General Grant personally ordered the signal guns to fire, 
until the capture of the Ridge, he, with members of his 
staff, was on Orchard Knob, and repeatedly gave commands 
to the battery. The last one was to Captain Bridges, that 
gunners be sent up to the Ridge to man the enemy's cannon 
and to fire on the fleeing troops, if such service were required. 
All in all, the officers and men of Bridges' Battery have ever 
felt a proud satisfaction in the part they were able to take 
in capturing Bragg's stronghold on Missionary Ridge the 
twenty-fifth of November, 1863" 



CHAPTER VIII. 

PAGE 

Illinois Monuments and Markers on Chicka- 

mauga and missionary ridge battlefields . . 285 

19th Illinois Monument Dedication on Snod- 

GRASS Hill 292 

Major Gen. John McArthur on Battle of 

Missionary Ridge 303 



The Nineteenth Illinois 285 



CHAPTER VIII. 

When, not many years ago, Prince Henry of Prussia, 
brother of the Emperor of Germany, was in this country he 
visited the battlefields of Chattanooga, that is to say, Chick- 
amauga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge. As a 
souvenir of that visit he was presented with a magnificent 
album, and in it one of the pictures he most admired was 
that of an Illinois Monument. Upon Missionary Ridge 
stands our great State's tribute to all her troops in the 
Chattanooga campaign; it rises, a symmetrical Corinthian 
column of granite to a lofty height, with a colossal figure in 
bronze at its summit holding aloft a leaf in one hand, in the 
other a laurel wreath, which it is conferring upon the brave 
men from Illinois who fought on that bloody field. From 
the grand Boulevard which extends along the crest of that 
ridge, from its river end, now known as Sherman Heights, 
to Kossville Gap, the gate from Chickamauga to Chattanooga, 
the view is marvellously beautiful; and no monument upon 
the entire panorama attracts more attention than the one 
which Illinois has consecrated to her citizen soldiers. Near 
it is the tall Observation Tower erected by the United States 
Government, marking the spot that served as Bragg's 
Headquarters. But this monument, grand though it is, 
is not the only one upon Lookout's lofty heights, on Chick- 
amauga's sweeping vales and hills, or along Missionary 
Ridge, to write the name of Illinois in letters proud; and we 
have to do with two or three of the others in this present 
chapter. 



286 The Nineteenth Illinois 

The story of the unparalleled and important battles 
already dealt with has been often told, yet in very different 
ways, by both big and little historians. It is not easy to be- 
lieve that these many writers ever willfully distorted the 
truth, or manipulated their facts and fancies, nevertheless 
contradictions and denials of published statements have so 
frequently been made that in all probability no book will 
ever be constructed to satisfy everybody, neither those who 
participated in, nor students of the Civil War.- We per- 
soiialh' believe that, on the whole, the "Official Records of 
the Union and Confederate Armies," ])ublished at Wash- 
ington under authority of Congress by direction of the Sec- 
retary of War — it is officially claimed that nothing has been 
printed in these volumes except duly authenticated contem- 
poraneous records of the War of the Rebellion — should be 
accepted as definite and convincing. As a general thing 
they are, so far as they go; the only trouble with them is 
their lack of necessary details bearing directly on the sub- 
ject matter at issue. But in all probability the universally 
accepted story of the two great Western C^ombats of Septem- 
ber 19-20 and November 25, 1863, the one stamped with 
United States, State, and individual authority, is going to 
be, if it is not so already, that which the National Chicka- 
mauga and Chattanooga Battlefield Park Commission has 
established in panoramic order, with the aid of monuments, 
markers, tablets, towers, etc., and which has cost millions 
of dollars, voted for that purpose by unanimous Congres- 
sional and State Legislation. 

Under an act of Congress, passed August 19, 1890, the 
Battlefield of Chickamauga was made a National Park. 
At first it contained (),40() acres, but since then the North 
end of Lookout Mountain and a considerable part of Mis- 
sionary Ridge, likewise Orchard Knob, have been added to 
the first panoramic scheme, while the original title name was 



The Nineteenth Illinois 287 

changed to that of National Chickamauga and Chattanooga 
Battlefield Park Commission. The work accomplished by 
this body may be summed up as follows: The central 
drive, running from the southern limits of Chickamauga 
field to the heights at the river end of Missionary Ridge 
where Sherman's army was checked, is twenty miles in 
length, all of them passing through or overlooking heavy 
fighting ground. These plains and uplifts are a Park only 
in the sense that they have been restored as far as possible 
to their condition at the time of the two battles. Nothing 
has been done for purely decorative purposes. The old 
lines of works and the old houses that were land marks 
in the combats which were destroyed, then or subsequently, 
have been rebuilt or restored. Furthermore, the details 
of six engagements are set forth on tablets in the Park and 
its approaches by the National Commission, that is to say, 
Wauhatchie, Brown's Ferry, Orchard Knob, Lookout 
Mountain, Missionary Ridge and of course Chickamauga. 
Historical tablets mark Brigade, Division, Corps and Army 
headquarters on both sides; these also set forth the compo- 
sition and commanders of regiments and batteries, likewise 
the part each organization played in the battles. Moreover, 
different States have erected special monuments of their 
own regiments and batteries, hence the services of the men 
who were in the combats named have been properly and 
honorably commemorated, with the important result that 
this Park is today the most comprehensive and extended 
military object lesson in the world. 

It would seem that the chief promoter, if not the actual 
founder, of this wonderful panoramic history was Conu-ade 
Henry V. N. Boynton, formerly Lieutenant Colonel of the 
Thirty-fifth Ohio Infantry; both Brannan and Van Deveer, 
his Division and Brigade Commanders, refer to him in high 
terms in their official reports of the Battle of Chickamauga. 



288 The Nineteenth Illinois 

In his "Chickamauga National Military Park'" book Com- 
rade BojMiton informs us that this particular park project* 
was conceived and orgainized not only for the ])ur]iose of 
a memorial to American valor, but to afford to the military 
student an opportunity for studying of "the brilliant strat- 
egy, the unsurpassed fighting done there," and "giving impar- 
tial representation to both sides in preserving the history 
of the field and marking the line of battle." Writing of the 
dedication of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga Battlefield 
Park, Conn-ade Boynton claims that this National Panorama 
makes it possible for a visitor to Snodgrass Hill and Mis- 
sionary Ridge to trace the movements of every organiza- 
tion down to the units of batteries and regiments from the 
beginning to the close of those engagements. Union and 
Confederate lines and positions are marked with equal care; 
the same exhaustive study has been given to the positions 
and movements of the one as to the other, and both the Con- 
federate and Union doings are set forth with absolute im- 
partiality. ''The controlling idea upon which it — the Na- 
tional Park of Chattanooga — Chickamauga — was founded 
and which has shaped every feature of the project since, has 
been to restore and preserve the accurate history of those 
famous battlefields, and by the means employed to illustrate 
the prowess of the American soldier in battle." 

Captain Bremner writes us as follows concerning the 
National Park: ''When the Commission was locating the 
monuments they wrote to Chicago to the Nineteenth Illinois 
Veteran Club, asking that some one be sent who coukl iden- 
tify the ground and place where the Nineteenth's monument 
should be set. Lieutenant Colonel Raffen and myself went 
and met General Boynton, Major Fullerton, and Major 
Smith. We went over the ground and without any hesita- 

*The Government has established four of these National Parks on actual battle- 
fields — Shiloh, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and Chickamauga-Misaionary Ridge — and that 
of Chickamauga is the only one whereon a victory was gained by the Confederates. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 289 

tion or doubt made our decision. No suggestions were of- 
fered by the Commissioners. I remarked to Major Smith, 
'Major, you know if we are right. For you know which 
Brigade supported your battery from twelve noon until the 
close of the battle.' And he replied, 'Yes, this is the place,' 
or words to that effect, and it was so located. The Nine- 
teenth's monument is on the left of the line of the Regiment^ 
the spot where the charge was made that closed the action, 
and drove the Confederates from the Hill. At the dedica- 
tion of the Park about fifty of the Nineteenth Illinois, both 
officers and men, were present; also a large number of the 
Eleventh Michigan and the Eighteenth Ohio. I did not 
hear a single objection to the position. All our own men 
claimed it was right and that no mistake was made. I have 
had letters from a few officers of the Regiment since the 
correctness of the position was disputed, sending sketches 
and descriptions. Lieutenants D. B. Morehouse and Henry 
S. Dietrich, as well as Lieutenant Stivers, of the Eighteenth 
Ohio, all maintain that no mistake is possible." 

It is both fitting and proper that this space be given to 
some lasting account of the National Chickamauga Battle- 
field Park which the Government and the States have created 
on the ground where more than 130,000 American soldiers 
met in deadly array half a century ago, inasmuch as our 
Regiment was among the best and foremost there; with the 
further incentive that the Nineteenth Illinois Veteran Club 
participated in the dedication of some of the monuments 
which now adorn that incomparable Park. And we will 
give, too, an account of the dedication of another monument 
to the honor and glory of our Regiment which, placed on 
the heights of Missionary Ridge, marks its efforts in a com- 
bat that, though fought differently from the orders of the 



2*)() The Nineteenth Illinois 

Coniinaiuling (icnenil, was the most sig;nal victory and most 
spectacular iDattle known in history. 

Of the many pleasant and successful excursions made 
by the Nineteenth \>teran Club, it would seem that none 
ever surpassed in interest and importance the one from the 
great city of Chicago to the bucolic stream of Chickamauga 
in September, 1895. The start was made on Sunday even- 
ing, the fifteenth of that month, and the next morning 
brought the excursionists into the station of the Louisville 
and Nashville Railroad at Louisville, Kentucky. Soon 
after they found themselves running over familiar lands. 
Lebanon Junction had changed hardly any since the war; 
the Veterans readily distinguished our old Camp south of 
the tank-house, also the drill and parade ground a little 
farther along. A few miles onward, Elizabethtown was re- 
discovered, the camp-ground back of the old graveyard 
beiiig visible from the car windows. After this came well- 
known localities — Camp Nevin, Bacon Creek, Muldraugh's 
Hill, the High Bridge over Green River, Horse Cave, Mam- 
moth Cave Junction, Edgefield Junction, where the National 
Cemetery, with its more than 16,000 of our L^nion Army 
comrades was seen — and finally Nashville, Tennessee, at 
about half past four o'clock on the afternoon of the sixteenth, 
was reached. As the party were to remain in that city over 
the night they dispersed at once to view the town, but the 
lateness of the hour prevented much sight-seeing. Nash- 
ville was left at nine o'clock next morijing, and the train 
soon arrived at the scene of the Nineteenth's first big battle, 
that of Stone River. 

Writing of that trip, our late Comrade Lieutenant Thom- 
as M. Beatty, from whose article in the Zouave Gazette we 
are now taking all that concerns this excursion, says: "The 
view to us was an interesting one. Gazing from the cars, we 
could see, off on the right, the location of our terrilile fight 



The Nineteenth Illinois 291 

in the Cedars; on the left the spot where we made the des- 
perate charge across the river to 'save the left/ and where 
our beloved Colonel Scott received his mortal wound." 
Only a short stop was made at Murfreesboro, and then on, 
passing in succession Wartrace, Tullahoma, Decherd, 
Cowan Station, Stevenson, and Bridgeport — names as fa- 
miliar to us as household words in those other years. Then 
the Club members a^id their guests came into the Wauhatchie 
Valley, with glimpses of the winding Tennessee River on the 
left; on the right were slowly unfolding views of Lookout 
Mountain; and then came the final stop at Chattanooga. 
Wednesday morning preparations were made to visit the 
Battlefields of Chickamauga, for the purpose of dedicating 
the Regimental Monument ; and here we let Comrade Beatty 
continue the interesting story. 

"The Color Guard donned their uniforms, the Club 
Flag and the old Nineteenth Guidons — now nothing but 
ragged strips of blue and gilt — were unfurled, and after a 
short march through the center of the city, the whole party 
took such conveyances as could be secured at the time and 
rode out to the battlefield; it was intolerably hot, and um- 
brellas and water were at a premium, but the excitement 
and interest in the day kept all up and no ill effects followed 
the ride. The first point of particular interest to come into 
view, was the knoll just in front of Rossville Gap, where 
the regiment was stationed on Monday morning after the 
battle, supporting a battery behind rail breastworks. The 
knoll is heavily overgrown with timber, much thicker than 
when we were first there, but otherwise the scenery is un- 
changed. Passing on, we soon reached the battlefield 
proper, and could see on every hand mute evidences of the 
desperate struggle. Here a granite monument to show 
wh^ere some brave regiment had made a desperate charge, 



292 The Nineteenth Illinois 

or still more desperate stand; there a mound of cannon- 
balls to mark the spot where a gallant commanding officer 
fell, and all around batteries of artillery on the ground they 
occupied during the fight; it is a sad but inspiring sight. 
About noon we reached Snodgrass Hill, or Horseshoe Ridge — 
as it is sometimes called — and, leaving the teams at the foot, 
the Color Guard escorted the colors to the top of the hill, 
and, after stacking arms in rear of the monument, dispersed, 
to await the formal exercises later on, an account of which 
is given by Comrade Young. 

"Starting on the return journey about four o'clock we 
drove down by the Brotherton farm and located the position 
held by the regiment on Saturday night, where we had the 
severe skirmish firing, and the regiment poured a volley into 
the enemy over the heads of the skirmishers, (the writer 
remembers the point most distinctively, as he was on the 
skirmish line, and when that volley was fired he thought 
his time had come, sm-e!) Returning north on the Lafayette 
road we passed the Kelly field where our Brigade made the 
charge on Sunday morning and captured Gen. Adams; 
still further north, at the junction of the Lafayette and 
Snodgrass Hill road, we found the monument erected by 
the State to Bridges' Battery; at this pohit, we were told 
poor "Billy" Bishop, whom we all knew and admired, was 
killed. Returning to Rossville Gap a turn was made to 
the right taking the new Government road along the crest 
of Missionary Ridge, and we were soon feasting our eyes 
on some of the most beautiful views in the world. The 
roadway is a magnificent work extending the whole length 
of the ridge, as smooth and hard as our finest l)oulevards. 
The hillsides have been cut away in places, and the depres- 
sions filled up, making the road practically level the whole 
distance. At various places along the road tablets have been 



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The Nineteenth Illinois 293 

erected, marking the points where the different organiza- 
tions reached the crest during the battle. Many of these, 
however, were, according to our judgment, placed incor- 
rectly. A tablet for the Eleventh Michigan, for instance, 
being placed nearly half a mile to the right of the point at 
which it was decided our Regiment gained the crest. Lin- 
gering on the ridge till near sunset, we finally returned to 
the city a id reached our train thoroughly tired out but fully 
satisfied with the achievements and enjoyments of the day." 

In the same number of the Zouave Gazette Comrade John 
Young, of Company E, tells how the Monument was dedi- 
cated, and his paper is worth giving in full. 

''Wednesday, September 18, was the day assigned for 
the dedication of the State Monuments on the Chickamauga 
Battlefield. The morning was clear and warm, and the 
roads filled with the veterans of both sides who participated 
in the battle thirty-two years ago. The gray hairs and bent, 
forms of many gave evidence of hardships and wounds 
endured. Others were present with whom time had dealt 
gently since in the vigor of youth they had marched over 
the same ground, going to, or returning from, the historic 
field. There was an impressiveness in the vast throng as 
they moved along the dusty road ; to the younger generation 
it was an object lesson in patriotism never to be forgotten 
and perhaps never to be witnessed again in their day. Soon 
after reaching Rossville, as we approached Battery Hill, 
the first of the descriptive tablets erected by the Govern- 
ment came to view. On it we read '19th Illinois Infantry.' 
It told of the last position held by our regiment on September 
21st before our withdrawal into Chattanooga, after passing 
through the famous Rossville Gap. As we moved into the 
more open country beyond, the beauty and grandeur of 
the field came to view. What a change since we last looked 
on it, on that memorable evening of the battle. 



294 The Nineteenth Illinois 

'The iieighiiig troops, the flashing blade. 

The bugle's stirring blast, 
The charge, the dreadful cannonade. 

The din and shout are past.' 

''All was now calm and jieaceful under the Autumn sky' 
for time has kindly healed the dcMits and scars of ci-uel war* 
The many monuments now dotting the hills and grassy 
plains brought back vivid recollections and many sad mem- 
ories of the fierce struggle. After a short ride we reached 
the now famous Snodgrass Hill. As we approached the 
ridge to the position so well remembered, we observed a 
massive granite block with the words 'ILLINOIS,' in bold 
letters, on its beveled top, and cut deep in the polished 
face of the stone '19th INFANTRY.' This, then, was our 
monument, erected on the front of the ridge, where, during 
that Sunday afternoon, we repelled the continuous attacks of 
Kershaw's brigade of Longstreet's Corps, who were assisted 
later by Gracie's Brigade of Preston's Division. Draping 
the stone with our regimental flag, the color guard stacked 
arms to await the formal ceremonies of dedication. 

"The Illinois monuments are massive granite blocks, 
with polished sides, having the regiment, brigade, division 
and corps carved into the face of the stone. They are 
pleasing in their look of solidity. On the left stands the 
ornate monument of the Eighteenth Ohio, and, still further 
to the left, that of the Eleventh Michigan, surmounted with 
a life-size statue of the lamented Colonel Stoughton. 

"Snodgrass Hill seemed to be the Mecca of the many 
visitors. When we arrived, the ridge was well occupied, 
among those present being a large deh^gatio.i of the lOleventh 
Michigan, preparing to dedicate their beautiful monument. 
After coi-dial and hearty greetings with our comrades of 
over two years in the same Brigade, it was decided to hold 



The Nineteenth Illinois 295 

a joint dedicatory service. Lieutenant Young, of the Nine- 
teenth IlHnois, was chosen to preside, assisted by Comrade 
Boughton of the Eleventh Michigan. After a few intro- 
ductory remarks, Comrade, the Rev. Washington Gardner, 
Michigan's honored Secretary of State, lead in prayer. 
James W. Iving, of the Eleventh Michigan, then read an 
interesting review of the services rendered by the Brigade 
during the Chickamauga campaign, which was listened to 
with close attention. General R. A. Alger, being called 
upon, responded in a short and eloquent address, full of 
tenderness and deep feeling. He was followed by Captain 
Bremner and Comrade Dustin of the Nineteenth, and by 
Comrades Boughton, Hicks, and Whallon, of the Eleventh 
Michigan, who were listened to attentively as they related 
the story of the struggle for possession of the hill on which 
we stood. The ceremony of dedication was concluded with 
'taps' by the bugler." 

Nearby the Goverimient has erected a descriptive metal 
tablet, reading as follows: 

STANLEY'S BRIGADE. 

Negley's Division — Thomas's Corps. 

Col. Timothy R. Stanley. 

Sept. 20th, 1863, noon, 2nd position. 

19th Illinois, Lieut. Col. Alex. W. Raffen. 

11th Michigan, Col. Wm. L. Stoughton. 

18th Ohio, Lieut. Col. Chas. H. Grovenor. 

The brigade arrived on this ground, from the woods west 
of the north end of the Kelly field, about noon. The 18th 
Ohio was placed on the left of the line, at the Snodgrass 
House, as support to Battery I, 4th U. S. Artillery of Van- 
derveer's Brigade, which had been posted there by Gen. 
Negiey. The 11th Michigan was on the left of the front 



296 The Nineteenth Illinois 

line, and the 19th Illinois on the right, joinhig Gen. Bran- 
nan's line. Col. Stanley was wounded at noon, and Col. 
Stoughton took command. The assault on the position 
by Kershaw's Brigade was continuous and persistent from 
1 o'clock until 4. About 4:30 (Iracie's Brigade of Preston's 
Division came to the assistance of Kershaw, and carried 
the point of the hill in front of Stanley, and held it for an 
hour. At () o'clock the 18th Ohio was brought from the left, 
and forming behind the crest, charged forward, and with 
the assistance of the other regiments, recaptured the posi- 
tion. This closed the fighting on that part of the line. 
At 7:30 the brigade following "Marker's" withdrew by Mc- 
Farland's Gap to Rossville. Casualties in the battle: 
Killed, 20; wounded, 146; captured or missing, 49. Total, 
215. 

"The remainder of the day was taken up in viewing other 
jiortions of the field, especially the ground we fought over on 
Sunday forenoon, near which is erected the Monument to 
Bridges' Battery, and where gallant young Lieutenant 
Bishop w^as killed. The Park and Drives, including the 
crest road to Missionary Ridge Battlefield, cannot be sur- 
passed for beauty and scenic grandeur. In closing I can but 
repeat what was said by Governor Holcomb, of Nebraska, 
in reference to the Park. 'On every hand are mute evi- 
dences of the memorable conflict. Could the stones speak, 
or the hills break the long silence they have kept, we would 
hear innumerable stoi'ies of desperate valor not chi'onicled 
in history.' " 

The Nineteenth's Monument, standing on Horseshoe 
Ridge — sometimes called Snodgrass Hill — occupies a con- 
spicuous position at the point of that height about two 
hundred and fifty to three hundred yards South and a little 
East of the Snodgrass House, being located, as near as could 
be determined in the absence of the rail breastworks, on the 



The Nineteenth Illinois 297 

very spot where stood our regimental ('olors during the 
battle. All the Illinois monuments are alike in size and ap- 
pearance; the only difference in them lies in the lettering. 
The fact that they are scattered over an area of at least 
6,000 acres removes the objection of monotony urged by 
some. But this sameness is a decided advantage; for when- 
ever the eye rests on one of them, the observer knows that 
some of the best blood of the State that gave Lincoln and 
Grant and Logan to the Union cause baptized the ground 
on which it stands. It is believed that, all things considered, 
Illinois has the most appropriate monuments in the National 
Chickamauga-Chattanooga Battlefield Park. Each of her 
monuments consists of only two stones, the base and the 
die, the weight of both being ten tons. They are made of 
Quincy, Massachusetts, granite, believed to be the most 
durable granite in the country; the base stone of the Nine- 
teenth is seven feet six inches long; four feet four inches wide, 
and one foot six inches high, with nine-inch bevel on top, 
quarry face. The die is six feet four inches long, three feet 
two inches wide, three feet high; three sides and top quarry 
face, nine inch bevel around top, cut finish; on front of bevel 
the word "ILLINOIS" in raised polished letters, which domi- 
nates all and can be seen from afar; the front face of the die 
highly polished, with sunk letters containing necessary 
inscription; die set in with wedged joints. The foundation 
of each monument was prepared by the LTnited States Gov- 
ernment without cost to the State. There were thirty-six 
regiments from Illinois engaged in the Battle of Chicka- 

mauga. 

***** 

The erection of a Monument on Missionary Ridge in 
honor of the Nineteenth was first suggested during the at- 
tendance at the dedication just dealt with. After the me- 
morial service on Chickamauga field, the scene of the battle 



298 The Nineteenth Ilunois 

of November 25 was visited by the \'eteraii ("lub. The 
part of the crest of Missionary Ridge reached by our Regi- 
ment in the heroic onslaught described in Chapter \'III was 
detiiiitely located; it is about 1,000 feet South of the Bragg 
tower. The ground was afterward purchased by Comrades 
Bremner and Young; the site was presented to the Veteran 
Club without cost; and steps were at once taken to raise 
sufficient funds by subscription to carry out the Club's 
intentions. The result was all that had been hoped for, the 
monument was assured. Those having the matter in charge 
agreed, and most properly, that the battle scene which had 
inspired the illustrious author of "America" w^as the best 
possible subject for the die of this testimonial to the valor 
of the Nineteenth Illinois, and so it came about that Captain 
David and his brave Color Company are "in the forefront 
of the fight" in that memorable contest which drove the 
enemy from before Chattanooga. The monument occupies 
a prominent position about fifteen feet above the crest road, 
a flight of stone steps leading from the roadway to its base, 
the slope of the ])ank being rip-rapped to prevent its crum- 
bling. 

The evening of November 23, 1897, a few members of the 
Regiment — Comrades David F. Bremner, John Young, P. F. 
(lUthrie, H. A. Downs, P. McConnell, Robert R. Sampson, 
Charles Ferris, G. H. Uchtman, J. M. Spahn, Jacob Bolles, 
J. H. Reynolds, Jacob B. Stanger, Thomas Beatty (Com- 
rades Ramage, Lamb, and Irons joined the party at Chat- 
tanooga), etc., with their ladies and friends, left Chicago and 
arrived at their destination at three o'clock in the afternoon 
of the twenty-fourth. The next day — Thanksgi\'ing Day, 
1897 — the party went up on Lookout Mountain and thence, 
after a noon dinner, took carriages to Missionary Ridge, to 
attend the dedicatoiy service for which they had gone so far 
from home. AVriting to the Zouave Gazette of that trip, Mrs. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 299 

H. A. Downs, wife of our esteemed comrade, says: ''This 
was a sacred observance, and only those men who had been 
in battle and had seem comrades faUing at their sides can 
fully understand the emotions which almost made utterance 
impossible. The folds of the vState and Regiment Flags 
rested over the beautiful monument like a final benediction. 
As we stood there beneath that Autumn foliage, 
with all the wonderful surroundings of Nature and the beau- 
tiful in Art, a group of men and women, showing our loyalty 
to and love for those who had fallen thirty-four years before, 
it seemed as if the Lord of Hosts and the God of Battles 
Who presided on that day of carnage was also present on 
this occasion as a Spirit of Peace. '-^ 

The dedicatory services were simple, yet impressive. 
Our old battle Flags, those that we planted in the enemy's 
breastworks at the close of the assault on the Ridge in 1863, 
and which since the war have reposed in Memorial Hall of 
the State Capitol, had, through the kindness of the Governor 
of Illinois, been sent to us, and with Comrades Petei F. Guth- 
rie, of E Company, and Robert Sampson, of A company, as 
color bearers, were placed on either side of the Monument, 
the Flags unfurled.* Comrade John Young, the then Presi- 
dent of the Veteran Club, stepped to the front, called the 
gathering to order and, after a few introductory remarks, 
delivered an address in which he said: 

"Comrades and Friend.-.: — We are here today to do honor 
to our former comrades of the Nineteenth, who gave up their 
lives in defense of the Union, and dedicate to their memory 
this beautiful monument to be guarded and cared for by a 
grateful nation, whose liberal generosity has made this — - 
the battlefield of Missionary Ridge and the adjoining fields 

*It is with sadness we add that one of these Color bearers, Comrade Guthrie — 
a nian of lovable character, brave and true — passed away about two years afterward, 
thus givir.'? another noble typs of the Voluntepr soldier to the long list taken from our 
fast diminishing ranks. H3 died lamented by many good m3n, but lamented by none 
more than he who writes these words. 



300 The Nineteenth Illinois 

of Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain — a national park 
where the patriotic citizens and the mihtary student may 
come, and on the many monuments read the story of the 
assault on this memorable hillside of the two days' struggle 
on Chickamauga's sanguinary field, and of the daring and 
seemingly impossible ascent of Lookout, now, as then, 
standing before us grim and defiant. (Ireat events are 
brought as vividly to the mind's eye as if they had just 
occurred. Could I turn back the year hand on time's dial 
thirty-four years today how different would be the scene 
presented. Below us, where now a prosperous city has been 
built, thea was to be seen the tents of a great army, with the 
guns of Fort Wood and Negley hurling shot and shell upon 
the heights on which we now stand, while in their front the 
Army of the Cumberland was forming its ranks, preparatory 
to the desperate work before it. Along the embattled 
crest of this ridge the enemy, alert and watchful, were be- 
hind their works, observing, no doubt, with thrilling interest 
the movements of our troops in the valley below. On the 
morning of that day the sound of Sherman's guns and the 
rattle of musketry on our left told of the commencement of 
the struggle for possession of the Ridge. Early in the af- 
ternoon Generals Grant and Thomas, with other officers of 
prominence, assembled on Orchard Knob waiting impatiently 
for the sound of Hooker's guns, off by Rossville. Near 
them stood our Company Ct, then known as Bridges' Battery, 
ready at the word of command to fire the signal guns that 
put the veterans of Stone River and Chickamauga in motion 
for the assault. How gallantly the Army of the Cumber- 
land performed its part history tells. Before the sun went 
down on that day, thirty-four years ago, the Ridge, from 
Rossville to the Tennessee river, was ours. But at what 
a cost ! The thousands of marble headstones in the National 
Cemetery yonder show how many brave hearts joined their 



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The Nineteenth Illinois :^()1 

comrades on the other shore in this and the surrounding 
battlefield. I will leave to others present to tell of that 
grand charge, how those dear old flags led us up these rugged 
heights to final victory, and how the gallant Army of the 
Cumberland emerged from th^ woods and advanced as if on 
parade against the batteries crowning the Ridge. The bronze 
tablets on our monument tell how well the Nineteenth 
did its duty on that day. It was a glorious victory, and well 
does our brave dead deserve this mark of our never failing 
admiration of their gallant deeds. 

"And now, comrades, with uncovered heads we will 
drape this monumental stone with the old flags, and this 
shall be our formal dedication." 

President Young then requested Major E. E. Betts, 
Topographical Engineer of the Chattanooga Military Park 
System, to accept the monument on behalf of the National 
Park Commissioners, and transferred to him a deed to the 
ground on which it stands. Major Betts responded feelingly, 
accepting the trust ia behalf of the Commissioners and prom- 
ised to see that it received the same care and attention as 
those erected by the States. Major General Mc Arthur and 
Major Vocke were called on and made short addresses 
suitable to the occasion. 

The die, or panel, a bronze relief, represents the climax 
of the battle, the incident shown being historically correct. 
The Confederates, driven from their works at the foot of 
the great slope, retreated up the face of the Ridge, and, 
assisted by the artillery occupying the lines above, contested 
every yard of ground during our ascent. As the Nineteenth 
neared the crest, the enemy's fire became doubly destructive. 
Here Color Corporal William Patterson, of Company E 
bearing the National Flag, was killed. Private Patrick Mc- 
Donald, of Company K, grasped the fallen Flag and bore 
it onward. In a few moments he also was struck down, and 



302 The Nineteenth Illinois 

was thus compelled to suiTonder his precious charjie. Then 
Captain Brcmner, commander of the Color Company, 
seized the Flag, as elsewhere related, and, amidst cheering 
from the whole brigade, planned it on the enemy's breast- 
works, receiving a volley from the retreating Confederates, 
which shot the staff in twain in his hands. Sergeant Cleorge 
Steel, who had bravely borne the State Flag up the Ridge, 
fell, severely wounded, almost in reach of the crest. Private 
John Brosnahan, drojiping his mu^^ket, took the colors from 
the wounded Sergeant, and, following his Captain, carried 
it on to and over the same breastworks. 

The bronze shows Captain Bremner, Flag in hand, 
climbing toward the works. On his right Private Brosna- 
han is taking the State Flag from the grasp of wounded 
Sergeant Steel. Below, Lieutenant Colonel Raffen, sword 
in hand, is cheering on his men. Near him Lieutenant 
Thomas M. Beatty is leading Company A in support of the 
Colors. In the center, Lieutenant Young of Company E, 
stoops for an instant over poor Patterson. Close by, Cor- 
])oral Thomas G. Lawler, with blanket roll over his shoulder, 
is pushing forward with his comrades of Company E. Up 
near the Colors, Major Guthrie is gallantly leading the left 
of the Regiment in the final charge. Below him. Sergeant 
Peter F. Guthrie, with musket at ''ready," is pressing to 
the front, while near Peter the wounded McDonald from 
Company A, caj) in hand, is cheering his conn-ades on. A 
few moments later those two victorious Flags were waving 
over the captured breastworks of the late defiant foe. 

On his return North, General McArthur, (Captain of the 
Highland CJuard — Company E — when that organization 
offered its services to the Governor of Illinois in January, 
18t)l, and who was appointed Colonel of the Twelfth Illinois 
Volunteer Infantry; he rose to be a Major General durhig 




Rear \w^^ of :Monunieiit on Missioiiarv Ruh 



The Nineteenth Illinois 303 

the war) who was one of the Club's guests on this occasion, 
wrote to the Zouave Gazette as follows: 

''The ceremonies at the dedication of the Nineteenth's 
Monument to the memory of its heroic dead on Missionary 
Ridge were simple from the fact that no official dignity 
graced the occasion, impressive by the fact that the actual 
participants of the heroic struggle, together with the iden- 
tical Flags borne on that memorable November afternoon 
in 1863, were placed as sacred emblems by their bearers on 
the Monument as a last tribute of respect to their fallen 
comrades. On looking over the ground traversed by the 
grand old Army of the Cumberland, and considering its 
fearful struggle at Chickamauga, and the magnificent 
courage displayed by again attacking the enemy in his strong 
positions around Chattanooga, there raised within me emo- 
tions of pride and renewed confidence in the future of our 
glorious country. The difficult ground up which the Union 
soldiers charged could hardly be credited were it not for 
the monuments scattered all over the field, now standing 
silent but convincing witnesses of the truth of history to com- 
ing generations. In talking with an ex-Confederate soldier 
on this question I asked him what was the feeling among the 
Confederates that could induce them to yield such strong 
stragetic positions. He answered by saying that although 
they whipped the "Yanks" at Chickamauga, it was such a 
victory as they had no desire to repeat, and with the sound of 
Sherman's guns thundering away on their right, backed up 
by the Army of the Tennessee, whose reputation for hard 
knocks had preceded them, their men simply became dis- 
couraged, an explanation that I thought was fair, and, in 
the nature of things, was humaxi. 

It is with sadness we add that one of the Color bearers 
of that notable occasion, Comrade Peter F. Guthrie — a man 
of lovable character, brave and true — passed away about two 



304 The Nineteenth Illinois 

yeais afterwards, thus giving another noble type of the Amer- 
ican soldier to the long list of our comrades taken from our 
fast diminishing ranks. He received injuries at the battle 
of Stone Kiver from which he never fully recovered. He 
died lamented by many good men, but lamented by none 
more than he who writes these words. 

But of all the monuments in the National Park of C'hick- 
amauga- Chattanooga Battlefield none is more original 
in design than another one placed by Illinois upon Orchard 
Knob. It was something like a Hall of Glory, a Pantheon 
to heroic men, standing near the ever-floating Flag which 
they so grandly defended. Beneath the canopied top of 
the testimonial the weary may rest on the marble seats and 
read the names of regiments that hailed from Illinois. The 
ceiling of this is polished to a mirror's brilliancy; and it is 
flanked by cannon, of the kind which our Coim*ades in the 
Light Artillery so bravely stood for in the Civil War. Here, 
too, the position of our old friends in Bridges' Battery has 
been definitely marked by the National Park Commission- 
ers. Four guns representing that Battery have been 
mounted in their original positions, and a tablet with the 
name and official designation placed just in front. This 
Memorial of Bridges' Battery and the Illinois Hall of Fame 
make Orchard Knob one of the most prominent and attract- 
ive spots around Chattanooga. 



a. 

OR 
p 

c 




CHAPTER IX. 

PAGE 

After the Battle of Missionary Ridge 307 

On the Atlanta Campaign 312 

Battle of Resaca 314 

For Home 317 

Adieu to the Army 320 



The Nineteenth Illinois 307 



CHAPTER IX. 

Told in the fewest words possible, the story of our Regi- 
ment after Missionary Ridge would read something like 
this. In a skirmish with the Confederates at Grayville 
November 26, 1863, followed the next day by a combat with 
them at Ringgold. Return to Chattanooga on the twenty- 
ninth. Preparations for Winter existence as Veterans who 
knew what to do and how to do it. Huts constructed with- 
out the aid of architects, yet containing all the conforts 
really necessary to a soldier's well-being. Something doing 
nearly all the time — as for instance: Up and out early for 
roll-call — O! that Orderly Sergeant! — followed soon by a 
breakfast which could not be duplicated at Sherry's; writing 
letters, mending clothes, washing shirt and socks, going to 
the Commissary for rations, or to the Quartermaster's on 
detail work; visiting comrades in other companies, occasion- 
ally those in other regiments; laboring on the fortifications; 
cleaning up camp; battalion drill — never could we have 
escaped that if we had served "a thousand years, my own 
Columbia;" discussion of past campaigns, or prophecies as 
to coming ones; conduct of armies in the East more or less 
criticised; and so on for a multitude of daily incidents, 
events and happenings important just at that time, although 
of no great value for the future, hence barely hinted at in 
these memories of other days. 

That Winter a little thing occurred which brought the 
Nineteenth Illinois very close, so to speak, with one of the 
noblest women this country has ever known — Mary A. Liver- 
more, of blessed memory. She was from Massachusetts, 



308 The Nineteenth Illinois 

and it was in a town not far from the village where the Editor 
of these pages now resides that she passed away only a few 
years back. During the war she lived in Chicago, and by 
lier and some other ladies in that city the Soldiers" Rest 
was fomided in the early stages of the great struggle. "It 
was also through their efforts that the Soldiers' Home came 
into being while the war was still in progress; that two 
great sanitary Fairs were organized and brought to a suc- 
cessful issue; that camp hospitals were equipped and supplied 
with Nurses and medical supplies, and the men at the front 
furnished w'ith such coveted luxuries as onions, pickles, and 
chow-chow, to supplement the regular mejiu of hardtack 
and sowbelly."* So prosperous, indeed, was the Chicago 
Sanitary Fair of 1863, that Mrs. Livermore was called to 
New York to organize and manage the still greater one given 
there in the Spring of 1864, and it was then that a Private 
of Company A became her collaborator in its monetary 
triumph. 

Conn-ade Nicholas PhiefTer was mustered out of life's 
service at Peoria, Illinois, toward the end of January, 1866; 
he had been a good soldier, and was a man well liked by those 
in the Regiment who knew him personally. Among other 
accomplishments, Nick was remarkably skillful with his 
pocket-knife, and many a handsome article did he whittle 
for those he loved. One fine day in December he showed up 
at a "villa" in Company D's line to consult with a Comrade 
for w'hom he always had affection, and in whose arms he 
died a few years afterward. He had carved from laurel 
root dug up on the battlefield of Chickamauga two dozen 
of the ha.idsomest napkin-rings that were ever seen, and now^ 
he desired to present them to our Commander, "Old Pap" 
Thomas, for his table use. Was such a thing pos>^ible? The 
decision being finally in the affirmative, straight away, and 

♦Frederick !■'. Cook, in 'Bygone Days in Chicago." (A. C. McClurg & Company.) 



The Nineteenth Illinois 309 

without i)erinission to leave camp, two High-Privates marched 
to Headquarters of the Army of the Cumberland, carrying 
a mysterious looking bundle which contained the napkin- 
tings. There was no difficulty whatever in obtaining an 
interview with General Thomas, who at once displayed 
earnest interest in the matter. He praised Comrade Phief- 
fer's exquisite taste and skillfulness, as he turned the rings 
over and over in his hands ; summoned members of his Offi- 
cial Staff to look at them, then finally took poor Nick's 
breath away with a proposition. Prefacing his suggestion 
with the assertion that he would hardly dare use such beau- 
tiful and valuable articles in his mess service, the great 
Commander gently said he would gladly accept the rings if 
he were permitted to send them on to Mrs. Mary Livermore, 
with a few words of explanation, for her Sanitary Fair at 
New York, where they were bound to be admired and would 
undoubtedly sell for a considerable sum when the story of 
their making came to be known. Such a fine disposal of his 
handicraft almost overwhelmed our former Comrade, but 
he was a man who never lost his balance, and he said: 

"General, I carved them for you, and it would have been 
a real pleasure to me if you had accepted them; but if you 
think it better that they should go to the Sanitary Fair 
people I am quite willing, if — if you will do the sending." 

General Thomas laughed heartily at this, then said, se- 
riously: "Well, I will attend to that part of the affair, and 
we must do it at once so as to get them on the catalogue, if 
there is one." 

Then the "Rock of Chickamauga" shook hands with 
both those High-Privates of the Nineteenth, they retired 
from Headquarters, and they managed to reach their com- 
pany huts without being detected as absent from camp 
without leave. The rings went safely to New York; they 
were exhibited at the great Sanitary Fair; and they sold for 



310 The Nineteenth Illinois 

twenty-five dollars each, that is to say, six hundred dollars! 

About the middle of December Grant's General Orders 
No. 9, in which he gave his thanks and congi'atulations to 
"the brave armies of the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the 
Tennessee, and their Comrades from the Army of the Po- 
tomac, for the recent splendid and decisive successes achieved 
over the enemy," reached Chattanooga, and was read to all 
the troops, of whatever organization. In that Order General 
Grant, then in Mrginia, and Commander-in-Chief of all the 
Union Armies, pointed out some of the things which had 
been accomplished by the forces in and near Chattanooga, 
as for instance: the securing control of the Tennessee River 
from Bridgeport to Knoxville; the dislodging of the enemy 
from his stronghold upon Lookout Mountain; the driving 
him out of Chattanooga Valley; the \westing from his de- 
termined grasp possession of Missionary Ridge; the hustling 
him from all points, utterly routed and discomfited; the 
securing of positions from which no Confederate power could 
ever afterward dislodge us, etc., and he said: ''You will yet 
go to other fields of strife, and with the invincible bravery 
and unflinching loyalty to justice and right which have 
characterized you in the past, you will prove that no foe can 
withstand you, that no defenses, however formidable, can 
check your onward march." It was more than four months 
from that date, however, before Sherman's armies started 
to carry out Grant's prediction that no foe could withstand 
us, no defense could check our onward march. 

It is true that with the coming of George Washington's 
Birthday in 1864 things about Chattanooga took on the real 
stamp of war again. On the twenty-second of February the 
Nineteenth was one of the regiments that "demonstrated" 
against Dalton, Georgia, and which movement included a 
skirmish with the enemy at Ringgold on the twenty-third, 
another at Catoosa Station on the twenty-fourth, an actioii 



The Nineteenth Illinois 311 

at Buzzard Roost Gap on the twenty-fifth, and still another 
at Turner's Station the next day. After that we took in 
Grayville again, and thence returned to camp at Chatta- 
nooga. Renewal now of "the same old programme" already 
hinted at; and then — at last — the forward movement that 
ushered in the Atlanta Campaign, in which the Nineteenth 
skirmished, combatted, engaged, and battled, now at Ring- 
gold, now at Rocky Face Ridge, now at Resaca, or on the 
line of Pumpkin Vine Creek, or at Dallas, or at New Hope 
Church, or at Adairsville, or at Kingston, or at Allatoona 
Hills — at scores of places indeed, until we finally reached 
Ackworth, from whence we started for "God's Country." 
Such are the bare facts, but the story would be very imper- 
fect if left in any such skeleton form, hence the necessity of 
dealing more largely with those closing six months in the 
history of our Regiment. 

Following the disaster which had befallen him at Mis- 
sionary Ridge, Lieutenant General Braxton Bragg had safely 
withdrawn his badly beaten army through the gorge in the 
Chattanooga Mountains, and, fixing his headquarters at 
Dalton, Georgia, within easy railroad communication of 
Atlanta and the rich farming lands round about, he immedi- 
ately started to constructing extensive fortifications to ren- 
der that place impervious to assault, and all to no purpose. 
It seems that about everybody in the South except Jefferson 
Davis had lost confidence in General Bragg, and public 
clamor was so insistent that early in December, 1863, he was 
relieved of the command of the Confederate force in our 
front and Lieutenant General W. J. Hardee — a gallant and 
distinguished officer whom the Army of the Cumberland had 
the honor of first meeting at Stone River almost a year 
previously, and where he displayed remarkable skill and 
tenacity; moreover it was he who fought Bragg's right on 
Missionary Ridge with deplorable results to Sherman's 



312 The Nineteenth Illinois 

intentions — was appointed his successor. Hardee remained 
in command only a short time, however, being soon succeeded 
by Lieutenant (leneral Joseph E. Johnston, whom many 
critics have pronounced "the finest mihtary mind in the Con- 
federate Armies." In turn, and about the middle of July, 
1864, Johnston had to give way to Lieutenant (le.ieral 
Hood, a famous Captain whom Thomas often whipped, then 
finally administered to him the most crushing defeat of the 
(^ivil War at Nashville. 

The Union force which Sherman commaiided at the be- 
ginning of the Atlanta Campaign was composed of three 
armies, namely: that of the Cumberland (it had again been 
reorganized, to a certain extent, but the Nineteenth Illinois 
still remained in the same Brigade, Division, and .Army 
Corps), Major (leneral George H. Thomas commanding; 
that of the Tennessee, Major General James B. McPherson 
commanding; and that of the Ohio, Major General John B. 
Schofield commanding. The larger force was assigned to 
Thomas; it consisted of the Fourth, Fourteenth, and Twen- 
tieth Army Corps, and it was destined to bear the greatest 
burden of the offensive work to come. In the Army of the 
Tennessee was the Fifteenth (John A. Logan's famous 
Corps), also the Sixteenth Corps, while Frank Blair's Seven- 
teenth Corps joined this army the tenth of May. The 
Army of the Ohio consisted of the Twenty-third Corps, 
which had been formed by consolidating the two Corps from 
the Army of the Potomac sent us after we had been cooped 
u]) in Chattanooga. Sherman's total force was just under a 
hundred thousand men, with 250 pieces of artillery. John- 
ston had about 54,000 men and 245 pieces of artillery to 
begin with, but by the tenth of May General Leonidas Polk's 
Corps of 20,000 men was sent to his command, so that the 
relative proi:)ortion between the advancing strength and that 
of the defense was as ten to seven during the entire campaign 



o 

o 




The Nineteenth Illinois 313 

which followed. The Union Army was indeed numerous 
and well equipped, but it had in truth enormous difficulties 
to face. The region in which it operated was wooded and 
mountainous, in great part thinly settled, quite unsurveyed 
and unmapped. Our 98,800 men and the thirty-five or 
forty thousand animals must be supplied mostly from as 
far North as the Ohio River, by a single line of railroad, 
exposed to the enemy from Louisville to Chattanooga — 
indeed it was often attacked, and might be broken any day. 
Along this thread of connection one hundred and thirty cars, 
carrying ten tons each, must proceed every day in order that 
our force might be fed and clothed. 

When the Nineteenth started on this campaign in May, 
1864, it was still in the Second Brigade, First Division, 
Fourteenth Corps, with Brigadier General John H. King and 
Brigadier General Richard W. Johnson, both regular officers, 
for our Brigade and Division commanders, while Major 
General John M. Palmer, a Volunteer soldier from Illinois, 
was at the head of the Corps. On the third of May General 
Johnson moved his Division from Grayville to Ringgold, 
leaving an outpost of two regiments, the Nineteenth and the 
Twenty-fourth Illinois, at Parker's Gap, to hold that pass 
until the advance of the troops from the direction of Cleve- 
land should cover it. Then, on the day but one following, 
those two regiments were relieved and transferred from the 
First Division to the Brigade of Brigadier General John B. 
Turchin, in the Third Division, same Army Corps. With 
us in this new Brigade, besides our old friends the Twenty- 
fourth Illinois, were, the Eighty-second Indiana, Twenty- 
third Missouri, Eleventh, Seventeenth, Thirty-first, Eighty- 
ninth, and Ninety-second Ohio regiments. At that time 
we had only fifteen officers and two hundred and thirty- 
nine men in our Regiment. 



314 The Nineteenth Illinois 

The morning of May 7 General Turchin's Brigade broke 
camp at Ringgold, and after a hard day's march encamped 
near Tunnel Hill, where the Thirty-first Ohio was thrown 
out as a picket guard. Next day we marched to a position 
opposite Buzzard Roost Gap, and remained there, camped 
in line of battle, for four nights and three days. On the 
twelfth the Brigade moved through Snake Creek Gap to a 
position about two miles East, to occupy works thrown up 
by the Army of the Tennessee in a previous attempt on the 
enemy. The thirteenth Turchin shifted his position to 
within three miles or so of Resaca, where we bivouacked, 
knowing that the Confederates were close at hand, and feel- 
ing that another battle was going to take place very soon. 
The morning of the fom-teenth came at last; the night had 
been anything but a restful Oxie. Tui'chin early moved the 
Brigade to the left of our Division (Baird's), connecting 
there with the right of the .Vrmy of the Ohio. Here skir- 
mishers from the Nineteenth Illinois and the Thirty-fu'st 
Ohio were thrown out; these engaged the Confederates 
about two hundred yards in advance of the line of battle, 
and drove them back to the hills, a distance of at least 
three-quarters of a mile, but were unable to advance any 
further owing to the strength of the enemy. Thereupon our 
skirmish line was doubled in strength, and the foe was com- 
pelled to give back to the second line of hills. 

Then our Brigade became mixed up with Hascall's of 
the Second Division, Twenty-third Corps, consisting of the 
One Hundred and Seventh Illinois, One Hundred and Elev- 
enth and One Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio, and the 
Twenty-third Michigan regiments, in a rather peculiar way. 
In the "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion" one 
may read: ''While my command was near the left of the 
Fourteenth Army Corps, in front of Resaca, I was ordered 
to advance in conjunctioii with the First Brigade and 



The Nineteenth Illinois 315 

attempt to carry the enemy's position. My Brigade was 
formed in three hnes and advanced in order until I came up 
with the lines of the Fourteenth Corps, intrenched in my 
front, when the troops of both Corps became intermingled 
in the thicket in their front, and in a short time the lines 
were in disorder." Now the lines thus referred to by Gen- 
eral Hascall were his own, not ours; and the question, which 
naturally arises, "Why were his troops in disorder at such a 
moment?" is answered by Major Uriah M. Laurence, com- 
manding the One Hundred and Seventh Illinois, in his 
official report of the part that regiment took in the Battle 
of Resaca. He says: "About noon on May 14 we started 
for the front, and the One Hundred and Seventh soon ran 
on the Nineteenth Illinois and an Ohio regiment and was 
compelled to move round them by the left flank, which 
threw us considerably in the rear." 

Major Laurence was a gallant and courageous soldier, 
an honor to Illinois, as were all the troops under him, but 
neither he nor they were yet aware of the fact that when the 
Nineteenth had, like a trained thoroughbred pointer, once 
established its nose toward the game, no power, not even 
that of a stubborn enemy on the defense, could induce it 
to move — except forward. Once on the battlefield we quite 
forgot the polite form of "After you, Sirs," but refused to 
budge from whatever position might be assigned to or taken 
up by us, unless it were toward the enemy, or in obedience 
to orders; nor should our younger comrades from Illinois 
have expected us to yield the pas to them under the circum- 
stances. Even though a writ of super sedas had been issued 
by General Hascall, we would, in all probability, have re- 
fused to step aside. Though always gentle in manner, the 
Nineteenth was ever vigorous ixi the deed; and as every 
regiment in Sherman's armies had some particular enjoy- 
ment, it may be acknowledged here that Our's was that of 



316 The Nineteenth Illinois 

hanging on, firm i.i the behef that success was the companion 
of virtue, and — Silent leges inter arma, as Cicero puts it — 
all polite laws are silent in the midst of arms. 

Whilst we have been thus running on, General Baird 
was settling the matter before Resaca by giving the order 
that Turchin's Brigade should advance as Hascall's Brigade 
advanced, and so the soldiers of both brigades moved for- 
ward. The position held by the Confederates was one 
strongly intrenched on an irregular conglomerate of hills, 
with spurs running in every direction, their main line on 
these elevations inclining northeastward, toward a bend in 
the Connesauga River, forming a refused flank to their 
force. On most of the hills they had batteries protected by 
earthworks of various descriptions, and so disposed as to 
sweep the lines of approach in every direction. The face of 
the country was very rough, rising and falling in a succession 
of heights and deep gorges, or ravines, rendering it a diffi- 
cult matter for our troops to advance in good order, and 
the foe had availed himself of these advantages, and was 
now cross-firing and enfilading the ground we were passing 
over, both with artillery and musketry. 

Turchin's Brigade advanced steadih', however, as did the 
other Union forces engaged, until our lines suddenly found 
themselves confronted by a deep, narrow creek, with quick- 
sand in places and steep and muddy banks. The enemy's 
sharpshooters fled on our approach, yet this stream stopped 
further progress. But it also proved a source of great an- 
noyance to the Confederates, for it gave the Union boys the 
chance to pour in an enfilading fire which soon drove them 
from their works, although the advantage was of short du- 
ration. The enemy soon succeeded in driving our unsup- 
ported advance toward the rear; and then Hascall's troops 
again got us into trouble by suddenly falling ])ack through 
our lines, although, to their credit, be it said, they (juickly 



The Nineteenth Illinois 317 

reformed. Turchin's Brigade was next posted on the first 
ridge in front of the enemy's stronghold, and there we re- 
mained, fighting till night came down. The battlixig was 
fiercely renewed on the fifteenth of May, but that night 
Johnston retreated across the Oostenaula River. 

On the sixteenth of the month the Second Division of 
Palmer's Corps was sent to capture Rome, Georgia, which it 
did on the eighteenth, and it held that place till the twenty- 
fourth. In the meantime our Division had advanced with 
the main army, participating in its actions, and following 
the retiring Confederates from Resaca to Lost Mountain. 
On the twenty-sixth it moved to Raccoon Ford, and thence 
to the forks of the Dallas axid Van Wert roads, returning 
on the twenty-ninth with wagon trains to Burnt Hickory, 
where it remained for the rest of the month, protecting the 
rear of the army. The second of June it moved from Burnt 
Hickory, and took up a position in reserve behind Johnson's 
Division. From there General Palmer advanced it about a 
mile ; and during the night of the fourth the enemy fell back 
from our front in the direction of Big Shanty. Next day 
we swiftly followed them, but no engagement could be 
brought on, although there was considerable musketry 
firing. The sixth of June the Brigade was on its way to 
Ackworth, to help replace the railroad; and vast quantities 
of war munitions were already reaching that station when, 
on the ninth of the month, the Nineteenth faced about and 
started homewards. Our Regiment had been a part of 
Sherman's army for considerably more than half the dis- 
tance to Atlanta; and from the time when General Johnson 
had left us on outpost duty at Parker's Gap till now, a matter 
of more than five weeks, we had been in a series of almost 
continuous skirmishes and combats, with one big battle 
included, thus alternating marching and fighting with de- 
lightful regularity. 



318 The Nineteenth Illinois 

The mobility of "Old Tecumseh's" mighty force on this 
memorable campaign is counted among the most remark- 
able things in mihtary history. Never, says John McElroy, 
in liis work, "The Atlanta Campaign/' was a great army 
stripped to actual fighting weight as was Sherman's three 
armies by the end of the first month, and he thus goes on: 
"When it started out it was thought that everything super- 
fluous had been discarded under the rigid orders of Sherman, 
cuttixig down the trains to a wagon for each regiment, tents 
discarded, and shelter for the officers limited to a mere 
'fly.' Regimental, Brigade, Division, even Corps command- 
ers had to content themselves with this meager shelter, 
which was scanty indeed, against the driving rains. A mule 
carried all the larger cooking vessels for the company. 
These were intrusted to a Negro, who was expected to make 
his way as best he could to the point for which that com- 
pany's regiment was heading. Each enlisted man carried 
the half of a tent with a rubber or woolen blanket, while 
his partner carried the other half, and the men were thus 
better sheltered than their officers. His haversack contained 
his rations, usually enough for three days at a time, and on 
his belt was a small pot or tin in which to boil his coffee. 
This and the half of a canteen were his principal, if not sole, 
cooking utensils. The half canteen was both multiplex 
and useful. In it the soldier fried meat, or cooked a ragout 
of salt pork and hardtack; it served as a wash bowl in the 
morning when he was not near a brook; and with it he 
scooped out shallow rifle-pits under the fire of the enemy. 
Generally he had all he could eat; and, despite the fact that 
the Confederates had been living on the country, there was 
consideraljle to be picked up by industrious foragers along 
the wide sweep over wliich the army marched. Another 
thing which our troops brought to a high state of excellence 
by the time they had settled dowii in front of Kenesaw was 



The Nineteenth Illinois 319 

that of rapid construction of field fortifications. While 
the skirmishers were engaged in front the rest of the mea 
stacked arms, got axes and picks from the wagons, which were 
kept close to the ammunition train, and in an incredibly 
short time had themselves well covered against assault." 

It was the ninth of June, 1864, when the Nineteenth 
Illinois left the front. The Front ! Foremost in many of the 
campaigns of the Civil War, some of them bordering on the 
sensational, all of them of gravest importance to the Nation. 
In the front! and most of the time with a Commander in a 
class by himself, a General whom we loved much, but re- 
vered him more. We never criticised, never doubted him; 
never attributed to him either moral error or mental weak- 
ness; and those of us of the dear old Regiment who are still 
living are thankful that we served under "Old Pap" Thomas, 
the loyal Virginian, the incomparable Soldier, the "Rock 
of Chickamauga," the Christian gentleman, one of the 
greatest Captains of the Ages. 

We were quite willing to go home, of course, still we left 
the front with keen regret, and with many a looking back- 
ward as we journeyed northward. In front of us now were 
the beloved ones of family and social circles — those who had 
been working for us, hoping for us, praying for us, as they 
awaited our return ; but at the Front back of us were the army 
comrades of months and years — those who had stood by 
us in many an hour of peril, were ever ready to share their 
last hardtack with us, aye, to pour out their very lives with 
us for the preservation of our common Country. It called 
for all the joy we realized would soon be ours to overcome 
the sadness of leaving the Boys in Blue who were still to 
win grand triumphs at the front whilst we went marching 
home. Such a show of fighting men, our own dear comrades 
of war, would never again meet our eyes; and though our 
minds were overflowing with thoughts of coming happiness, 



320 The Nineteenth Illinois 

our lieurts wore heavy with the knowledge that we had said 
farewell and forever, to the Fourteenth Corps, and the to 
.Vi'iny of the Cumberland, Our only consolation was the 
belief that among the more than two hundred regiments of 
Infantry in Sherman's marching host we could truthfully 
lay claim to brotherhood with the bravest and the best. 

Adieu to Infantiymen, Artillerymen, Cavalrymen and 
Engineers of the Army of the Cumberland! Adieu to all 
comrades, both of rank and file, and to comrade field officers 
as well, for our marching and fighting days are ended! We 
shall soon have our honorable discharges, yet nothing can 
ever diminish the part we have had in the Nation's deliver- 
ance. The cars are bringing us swiftly home, but the sound 
of their rattling wheels is forming itself into seeming words: 
"Old Pap Thom! Old Pap Thoin! Old Pap Thom!" "Old 
Tecum! Old Tecum! Old Tecum!" ".Army of the Cum! 
Army of the Cum! Army of the Cum!" as we travel toward 
Lake Michigan. On the tenth of June the Regiment was 
back in Chattanooga; on the thirteenth it was in Nashville; 
on the fifteenth in Louisville, and on the seventeenth we 
were once more among the dear people of Chicago. The 
eighteenth of June we took up our temporary abode in Camp 
Fry, far over on the North Side, but iiot until the ninth of 
July the Paymaster having settled Uncle Sam's indebted- 
ness to us, and the mustei"-out rolls being duly approved by 
proper authorities, did we receive those pi'ecious documents, 
our Hoiiorable Discharges from service in the L^iiion armies. 
We had served "Father Abraham" and his Ciovernment 
faithfully aiid loyall}^ for thi-ee years, two months, and six- 
teen days. "Battle's magnificently stern array," and hi the 
van of which we had so often been, was far from us now; but 
we were to become "ancients of tiie earth, and in the morning 
of the times." 



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CHAPTER X. 

PAGE 

The Grand Review at Washington 324 

AuTEM Ecce Alterum (But, Behold the Other 

Side) 334 



The Nineteenth Illinois 323 



CHAPTER X. 

During the winter of 1863-64, also just previous to our 
leaving the front for final muster-out, a goodly number of 
the men in the Nineteenth re-enlisted as Veteran Soldiers 
and this fact gives our Regiment something of a claim on 
the Grand Review at Washington at the close of the War. 
For if it was not among the marching battalions which 
peopled Pennsylvania Avenue wdth victorious heroes from 
the West on that forever memorable twenty-fourth of May, 
1865, it certainly was represented there by some of those who 
had been our gallant comrades in many battles, hence we are 
impelled to bring this work to a close with brief account, 
gathered from various reliable sources, of an unparalleled 
military array, when once mighty armies marched for the 
last time behind the tattered Emblems of the Repubhc 
they had helped to save. 

Knowing the impatience of the Country's citizen soldiers 
to return to their homes, President Johnson and Lieutenant 
General Grant ordered a Grand Review of the two great 
forces which had converged at and near the Nation's Capital 
after the terms of Peace had been dictated and accepted. 
These two forces were the Army of the Potomac, and the 
combined armies of the Tennessee and of Georgia. For 
four years those Union heroes had been marching and bat- 
tling in the Southland, and now the parting was at hand; 
beyond this coming and magnificent pageant lay reunion with 
friends and relatives who had not been seen in several years, 
and there was a^i enthusiasm, an emotion in every man's 



324 The Nineteenth Illinois 

bearing such as was never known before in the liistories of 
war. 

The ai)pointed days, May 23-24, 1865, dawned at last. 
The sky was as blue as a turquoise new-mined from the dark, 
and the May breeze toyed with blossoms and green boughs. 
The Capital was covered with the Nation's Flags, every- 
where flowers and tri-colored bunting smiled on one another, 
and the Government, with a host of illustrious guests, was 
present to wdtness this last display of the pomp and circum- 
stance of a War of Rebellioii that had lasted for four long 
years. 

.AJong Pennsylvania Avenue they marched, those gallant 
Boys in Blue for whom a vast and applauding throng had 
long been waiting. On Tuesday it was the Army of the 
Potomac, 150,000 men, led by Major General Meade, the 
the conqueror of Lee at Gettysburg; men who had followed 
every step of tne Virginia Campaigns. On Wednesday it 
was Sherman's mighty force — men who had tramped thous- 
ands of miles through the heart of the Southland. Each 
force had its own characteristics, its own local colors, its 
own display, and each had its vast multitude of enthusiastic 
admirers, all these welcoming the returning home of the 
Nation's warriors. We shall deal only with the Grand Re- 
view^ of the second day, however; and on that day, at the 
head of the Army of the Tennessee, rode Major General 
John A. Logan, as its Commander. It was a place of honor 
and distinction that he had long since won, notably in the 
night battle before Atlanta; but it was only now that "Black 
Jack," the greatest Volunteer General of the Civil War, 
had come into his own, as the Commander of a grand fighting 
and victorious Army. With the pi-ecision of military dis- 
cipline and long experience, those Western soldiers marched, 
along Pennsylvania Avenue by columns, company after 
company, regiments ditto, brigades, divisions, and corps as 



The Nineteenth Illinois 325 

well, with Logan riding at their head, a magnificent man 
on his war steed. Bayonets were gleaming a forest of steel in 
the bright sunshine. Regimental Flags, torn and tattered — 

'^A bit of faded stuff, a rag. 
And yet a thing to die for!" 

garlanded now with flowers, and held proudly aloft before 
the faces of the President of the United States and his Cab- 
inet, their illustrious guests, and the Commanding Generals; 
and Oh, how the "Old Boys" who had followed those Flags 
through so many perils and dangers must have been thrilled 
as they looked on the bullet-pierced Colors which had been 
their guidance on so many battlefields! And the bands 
played their choicest airs of war, of camp, of exultation, of 
peacefulness, as those Western soldiers paraded before the 
distinguished personages who stood upon the reviewing 
platforms ! See those conquerors in ragged uniforms march- 
ing — not to war now, but as though each individual one of 
them were going to dine with the Nation's President just as 
soon as the Grand Review was over! See them, marching 
as on a prize drill competition, not missing a step, nor losing 
sight of that elbow-to-elbow touch, or those inches of dis- 
tance between back and breast of rear and foremost rank; 
eyes to the front as become well-disciplined, thoughtful 
troops, their unsurpassable swing speaking of days and 
months and years which knew next to nothing of defeat, 
even at the hands of equally gallant, equally courageous 
soldiers of the South whom they had been "running up 
against" during a stubborn contest that never should have 
been! 

Hep, hep, hep! left, left, left! how the tread of those 
thousands on thousands of victorious Boys in Blue must 
have fired the imagination and quickened the blood of the 



320 The Nineteenth Illinois 

vast multitude which filled the Nation's Capital tluit May 
day of nearly half a century ago ! Not Sparta after Platea, 
nor France after Austerlitz, nor new-born America after the 
fall of Yorktown, beheld a more gloiious or a more satisfying 
sight. Not Rome, back in the ancient days of her highest 
grandeur, kejit such a feast to the War God Mars as was wit- 
nessed during those two days of the memorable Grand Re- 
view at Washington in May, 1865. Yet no sordid ambition 
for military despotism disturbed the mind or thought of 
those home-comers who had fought the fight set them. The 
combat and the camp, the battle and the bivouac, the danger 
and the disease, the short rations and the need of clothing, 
the silent grief over the loss of another dear comi-ade and the 
dread of prison-pen, the longing for news from the beloved 
ones up in "God's Country" — all these and many another 
memory were to be put aside on the morrow; for on the mor- 
row these mighty armies were to be made, as in the twink- 
ling of an eye, into a mighty industrial force that was now 
to rebuild the Nation's strength and bring blessings to a re- 
united land. 

We have before us at the present moment, indeed it is 
from it that we are about to quote, an original copy of tlie 
New York Tribune bearing the date of Thurdsay, May 25, 
1865, and on its first page (one column and over) is the fol- 
lowing special dispatch from Washington, dated the day pre- 
viously: "We have had another bright and in all other 
respects charming day for the review of the Armies of Ten- 
nessee and Cieorgia. The sidewalks of Pennsylvania Av- 
enue, at all elevated points, were today, as yesterday, occu- 
pied by deeply interested spectators. Fresh arrivals this 
morning augmented the already large number of strangers 
who had especially visited Washington to witness the Grand 
Military Parade. The tastefully decorated stands near the 
Executive Mansion were again occupied by President 



The Nineteenth Illinois 327 

Johnson, members of the Cabinet, and Lieutenant General 
Grant, together with distinguished army and navy officers, 
Chiefs of Executive Bureaus, the Diplomatic Corps and 
their families, and other personages. The vicinity of the 
reviewing point was densely crowded over a larger area than 
yesterday, this locality being the most attractive. 

"The Ai*my of the Tennessee moved from the Capital 
at nine o'clock this morning, proceeding toward the Exec- 
utive Mansion. At the head of the column rode Major 
General Sherman, who was vociferously cheered all along 
the line, while many clapped their hands, and others waved 
their handkerchiefs and ixiiniature flags. The greeting of 
this hero was in the highest degree enthusiastic. He had 
been presented with two large wreaths of flowers, one of 
which had been placed around his horse's neck, the other 
hung upon his own shoulder. Sherman was accompanied 
by Major General O. O. Howard, formerly in command of 
the Army of the Tennessee. Next following Major General 
John A. Logan, Staff, and Escort. He yesterday assumed 
command of this Army, and rode at the head of it. Until 
yesterday he commanded the Fifteenth Corps, composed of 
troops from Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, 
Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The Seventeenth Corps 
came next, preceded by its commander. Major General 
Frank P. Blair, Jr., his Staff, and Escort. The troops of 
this Corps are from Illinois, Ohio, New York, Wisconsin, 
Indiana, Minnesota and Michigan. 

''The next in review was the Army of Georgia, Major 
General Henry W. Slocum commanding, who rode at the 
head of this column. The Twentieth Corps was commanded 
by Major General Joseph A. Mower, and it included volun- 
teers from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, Wiscon- 
sin, Massachusetts, Ohio, Delaware, Indiana and Michigan. 
This was succeeded by the Fourteenth Corps, Brevet Major 



328 The Nineteenth Illinois 

General Jeff. C. Davis commanding. It was composed of 
^'()lunteel■s from Illiiiois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan 
Kentucky, Minnesota and New York, The respective 
commanders of the Armies, Corps, Division, and Brigades 
bore upon their persons profusions of flowers, which had been 
bestowed in acknowledgment of their heroic deeds; and as 
they passed along the line cheers were given, and handker- 
chiefs and flags were waved, by those who chose this mode of 
testifying their gratitude for the gallant services of both 
officers and men. None seemed to be weary of continuous 
gazing at the troops, as there was always presented something 
of increased interest. The Armies represented all branches 
and divisions of the service — Cavalry, Artillery, and In- 
fantry, with sufficient variety in trimmings and appoint- 
ments to i-elieve the general sameness of uniform; and several 
regiments of Zouaves contributed to produce this effect. 
There was an extensive flashing of drawn swords, bayonets, 
and polished brass cannon in the clear sunlight. Sections 
of pontoon-bridges, ambulances, stretchers, even heavy 
wagons, were features in the procession. There was also 
a fair representation of the spade and axe department, the 
implements being carried on the shoulders of both white and 
black soldiers. Much amusement was occasioned by a dis- 
play of pack horses and mules. These were all heavily 
loaded with commissary supplies, including chickens.* A 
coon, a dog and a goat were comfortably fastened to three 
of the saddles; these were soldiers' pets. 

"An interesting feature in the Grand Parade was the ex- 
hibition of Flags and Banners of various patterns, some of 
them entirely new; others were carried, torn by bullets and 
reduced to shreds; while others, entire as to material, were 
faded by exposure to the weather or blackened by the smoke 
of battle. Several staffs were carried, from which the 

♦ Oh, yes! Chickens included in Commissary supplies — don't you remember, boys? 



The Nineteenth Illinois 329 

Flags had been shot away. All the spear-heads were orna- 
mented with flowers either in bouquets or wreaths. It was 
remarked, as in contrast to the Army of the Potomac, that 
the troops comprising the Armies of Georgia and Tennessee 
wore the wide-brim felt hats, regulation pattern. Their 
appearance in all respects was equal to that of the Army of 
the Potomac, notwithstanding they had performed more 
marching service. Their general movements were much 
admired and accordingly applauded. The Commander of 
each Army, and Corps, and Division, attended by one Staff 
Officer, dismounted after passing the General-in-Chief, and 
joined him until that Division, Corps, or Army had passed 
the reviewing stand, when he remounted and rejoined his 
command. Officers commanding regiments presented swords 
on passing the Reviewing Officer, but company officers were 
not required to make such salutes. Brigade bands, or con- 
solidated field music, turned out and played as their Brigades 
passed. One band to each Division performed during the 
march from the Capitol to the Treasury Building. After 
the troops passed the Reviewing Officer, they were marched 
to their respective quarters. The two Armies occupied six 
hours in passing — the same length of time required yester- 
day for the review of the Army of the Potomac." 

The rest of the first page of the Tribune is filled with the 
names of the different organizations which passed in review 
before President Johnson and Lieutenant General Grant 
on that day. On the editorial page within we find the fol- 
lowing : 

THE GRAND REVIEW. 

Such a spectacle as no other Coiitinent ever saw, as this 
Continent will never see again, ended yesterday. The great 
Armies that have saved the Union passed up Pennsylvania 
Avenue, out of mortal sight and into everlasting history. 



'•VM) The Nineteenth Iluxois 

Henceforth they exist only in name. The Army of the 
Potomac, the Army of the Tennessee, the Army of CJeorgia 
— they are names to conjure with forever, but the terrible 
force of them in battle has bee^i wielded for four years only 
to vanish in a day, and to leave behind them results greater 
than themselves. Such a pageant as. yesterday and the day 
before witnessed is an event that has to search wide for prec- 
edent or parallel. From the time of Napoleon when one or 
two spectacles j^ossibly equalled this in mere numbers, there 
is nothing to help the flight of the imagination till far baclv 
in ancient history where we may fancy the myriads of Darius 
passing in review before the tragedy of Arbela had j)iled the 
Persian host in hetacombs on the plain which their Mace- 
donian conquerors trod. But the great armies of old history, 
of Darius or Xerxes, are shadows, while the great armies of 
today are living and breathing men. Those were the slavish 
instruments of tyranny and ambition; these are the right 
hands of a Nation struggling for its own life and the immor- 
tality of the Republic. And these Armies of ours passed in 
review before no ordinary spectators. The Armies themselves 
— what are they? The Two Hundred Thousand Men 
who have tramped with feet of flesh and blood by the 
White House — who are they but the sad survivors 
of successive Armies of Dead Heroes whose earlier fate 
gave life to their remaining Comrades and to the 
Republic? Past what do they file in quick proces^ion 
Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and this mem- 
orable year? Past a tenantless White House from which 
has gone out the dead corse of him who had earned 
the right to view this triumphal march! We know not on 
which to think most sorrowfully — the emptiness of the 
I'resident's Mansion or the thinness of these soldier-ranks, 
where every living man seems to be accompanied by innum- 
erable shadows of departed Patriot Warriors. Illustrious 



The Nineteenth Illinois 331 

Dead are they all — more illustrious than any living, possessed 
of a more sacred and enduring fame than any who yet tread 
this whirling globe. Nor is the mind carried backward 
only in its survey of this miraculous procession. We think 
of those who look on, as well as of those who pass by. There 
stands the President whose hands are uplifted by those 
thronging thousands and who sees in them the visible sup- 
port of his Government. There is the great Commander 
whose all-embracing genius has saved the Nation. There 
are the Representatives of the Executive, Legislative, 
Judicial Departments — each one thankful to the Army that 
he has a department to administer. There are the Diplo- 
matic Representatives of the Great Powers of Christendom 
— gazing with earnest eyes on this demonstration of the 
greatest Power of all; conscious that no European Sover- 
eignty could match this marvelous demonstration of Demo- 
cratic supremacy. And there — whether far or near, whether 
from the steps of the White House or from the prairies of 
the West, or the shores of the Atlantic, or the summits of 
the mountains which divide a Continent — there is the 
American People looking reverently, admiringly, affection- 
ately on this March of their Brothers through their Capital 
and like them inspired, uplifted, and strengthened by the 
occasion. No need to draw a lesson from it — still less to 
applaud those who make part of it. We but echo the cry 
of the Army and of the People into whom the Army will in 
a moment melt, "Long Live the Republic — one and indi- 
visible forever!" 

THE TRIBUTE OF A FAMOUS JOURNALIST. 

Among the few distinguished representatives of the press 
at the front in those days of war was Mr. Charles A. Page, 
who, although connected with a great New York newspaper, 



332 The Nineteenth Illinois 

was born on a farm near Dixon, in Lee County, Illinois, 
therefore to be included among us, in a way, as a man from 
the ''Sucker" State. The evening of Wednesday, May 24, 
he wrote his paper: "The (jJrand Review is over. Two 
days of deserved apotheosis of the two Great Armies of the 
Republic have come and gone, and 150,000 veterans have 
been reviewed, not merely by Grant and Sherman and Meade 
and Logan, but by the people, the grateful millions. To 
civilians looking on, perhaps the most amazing thing was the 
numbers that marched by. Unused to armies, they sat 
seven hours yesterday and seven hours today, while the men 
with sabres and the men with bayonets, in close order and 
at brisk pace, marched past, and still the wonder grew where 
all the soldiers came from. And yet only one-quarter of 
the loyal forces now under arms in the country were seen by 
them. So the dense, swift, long columns were the greatest 
wonder, because they were dense and swift and long. The 
next wonder was that the soldiers seemed so little excited. 
They tramped along with a certain easy, satisfied, every-day 
nonchalance that was the perfection of nil admirari. They 
scarcely looked right or left, and any pride and exultation they 
did show was prim and bronzed like their faces and their 
uniform. There were, however, some exceptions. When a 
shout of 'Hurrah for Massachusetts!' would be raised by a 
group of Bay State spectators, or an enthusiastic 'Sucker' 
would call for and get rousing cheer.? for Illinois, as regiments 
from their respective States passed by, then the rank and 
file would look eagerly to where the shout came from, and 
scan each man's face as though hoping to see a familiar one. 
Again, when a Colonol on passing the main Pavilion would 
ask for cheers for the President and General Grant, the 
imperturbable faces would become transfigured into wild 
animation and pride, and old rusty hats, grasped by tawny 
hands and swung high by brawny arms, would circle iii the 



The Nineteenth Illinois 333 

air, while lungs made strong by year.-- in the field, and throats 
familiar with the whoop of the charge and the cheer of vic- 
tory, would send up a noise like that of the many waters of 
many Niagaras. And yet not one in fifty would turn his eyes 
to see the faces of those they were cheering. Whether the 
seeming want of curiosity was the result of discipline which 
commanded 'eyes to the front,' or whether they really did 
not deign to appear to be curious, I can't say. 

"To the stranger in Washington who had never seen the 
men on that main Pavilion, it was well worth while the rush- 
ing up as the rear of a Division or Corps passed, the hurried 
glance, and the scamper back when the head of the next 
column approached. There were the Preside it and Cabinet, 
Grant, Sherman, Meade, Logan, Hancock, Howard, Slocum, 
Hunter, Humphreys, and fifty others only less famous. 

One thing, both yesterday and today, never failed 
to call forth cheers, and that was the old Flags, the tattered, 
torn, stained Flags, frayed to skreds, staffs with a few 
sprays of a lint-like-silk — these were loudly cheered time 
after time. One regiment had affixed to an old staff, to 
which still clung a few shreds of the old Flag, a score of 
bright new streamers, each having the name of one of the 
battles of the regiment — and wasn't that cheered! 

"The Ai'my of the Potomac reviewed yesterday is mainly 
composed of Eastern troops, while the Army of Georgia 
(Slocum's), and the Army of the Tennessee (Logan's), are 
mainly Western troops. The exception in the former case 
consists in a dozen Western regiments scattered through the 
different Divisions. In the latter the exception is the 
Twentieth Corps (the Eleventh and Twelfth consolidated) 
which went West under Hooker. Naturally a comparison 
was provoked in the minds of the spectators between these 
Eastern and Western troops. It was noted that the West- 
ern men had the advantage in physique, were taller men, 



334 The Nineteenth Illinois 

witli fewer boys, and scarcely any foreigners among them, 
that theu- marching step was several inches longer — officers 
of the Army of the Potomac conceded that they marched 
better, that they moved with an elastic, springy, swinging 
step that does not belong to the Eastern boys, and that 
their faces were more intelligent, self-reliant, and determined. 
One could not distinguish officers from men except by their 
uniforms; the privates and the officers seemed equal in in- 
telligence and maxily bearing, and i.i station whexi at home. 
It was remarkable to see how the Twentieth 
Corps, transplanted, as it had been, from the East, had 
taken on many of the characteristics of their new comrades. 
They had learned the same swinging stride, exchanged caps 

for hats, and become military cosmopolites \nd 

so the last Review is over. The War is over. Tiie boys 
are going home. 'When shall their Glory fade?' " 



AUTEM ECCE ALTERUM. 

(But, behold the other side!) 

But there is another side to the brilliant and touching 
picture of some forty-eight or fifty years ago — that of the 
return of the defeated Armies of Dixie Land. Not in 
martial ranks, not with bands j)laying and regimental colors 
flying in the bright Spring atmosphere, not marching 
proudly before their Confederate Preside.it, but in single, 
in scattered groups, straggling and struggling backward 
from the fields of great battles where they had so bravely 
fought, thousands of them broken in health, every one and 
all more or less a victim of deprivation in camp or on the 
march; old boys in tattered uniforms, many of them shoeless, 
all with bellies empty until Crant said, "Give them rations 
till they no longer faint with hunger." They, the fiower and 



The Nineteenth Illinois 335 

the hope of the Southland in its unwise and disloyal attempts 
to destroy the Union, returned to their homes by virtue of 
the human goodness and the fraternal sympathy of their 
Conqueror. And yet it was not all darkness and dread they 
faced when their weary footsteps brought the Boys in Gray 
to their own again ; for by the ashes of places which had once 
been their homes these returning "Johnnies" found a-bloom 
the rarest flower tliat breaks the calyx of years — the love and 
sympathy of tender women — mothers and sisters, wives and 
sweethearts, even of the colored servants, many of whom 
had remained faithful to the ties that bound them to "Ole 
Massa" and "Ole Misses" through the dread weeks and 
months of frightful rebellion. And it was with this rare 
flower on their breasts, so to speak, that those defeated sol- 
diers with whom we so often fought, set themselves to teach 
the world the hardest lesson of War, that of how to work 
after defeat, of how, now that the sword was sheathed, the 
bayonet turned into a sickle, the cannon dismantled, the 
flags beyond their reach, to become people of the earth again. 
We often tackled them, "we'uns " of the Nineteenth, and we 
know they were indeed a brave and sturdy race of men. If 
they had not been the War would have lasted hardly a year; 
and that they were a brave and sturdy race is to our eternal 
glory, for it was men of courage and valor whom we defeated 
during the Civil War. One of their own best fighters has 
expressed it as a consolation that they were beaten, not by an 
external foe, but by those of their own flesh and blood. 
Therefore, a toast: "Our former foes, our present friends!" 
They are not to be classed under any ordinary description. 
Valete ac plaudite. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 337 



HONOR ROLL. 

THE LONG (PARTIAL ONLY) DEATH ROLL. 



COMMISSIONED FIELD AND LINE OFFICERS. 



DATE OF WHERE AND PLACE OF 

NAME. nTTDT»T 

DEATH. HOW. BURIAL. 



Brig. General. 
Turchin, John B. June 18, 1901 Random, 111. 

Colonel. 
Scott, Joseph R. Jvily 8, 1863 Chicago, of w'cls 

in battle Gracel'd Cm. 

Lieut. Colonel. 
Raff en, Alex. W. Apr. 24, 1901 Chicago RosehillCm. 

Major. 
Guthrie, Jas. V. May, 1906 
Harding, Fred'k 

Surgeon. 
Bogue, R. G. Dec. 8, 1893 Rosehill Cm. 

AssT. Surgeon. 
Blake, Sam'l C. Feb. 5, 1897 Oakw'ds Cm. 

Chaplain. 
Conant, Rev. A. H. Feb. 8, 1863 

Adjutant. 
Bell, V. B. Detroit 

MiUer, Chauncey Jan. 16, 1880 Salt Lake City Elmw'd Cm. 

Quartermaster. 
Wetherell, R. E. 



338 



The NiNJETEENTH Illinois 



Commissioned 


Field and Line Officers — Continued. 


NAME. 


D.\TE OF 


WHERE AND 


place of 




de.\th. 


HOW. 


BURIAL. 


Captains. 








Calhoun, Wm. A. 


Jan. 24, 1907 


Chicago 




Campbell, Jas. G. 


1911 


Bakersfield, Cal. 




Chandler, K. H. 


Jan. 2, 1863 


Killed at Battle 
Stone River 




Colby, Chas. A. 


Sept. 28, 1888 


Loui.sville, Ky. 




Guthrie, Pres. N. 


Feb., 1902 


Pittsburg, Pa. 




Hayden, Jas. R. 


Nov. 15, 1902 


Seattle 




Howard, B. B. 


Sept. 17,1861 


Killed Sept. 17, 
1861 




Murchison, Alex. 


Feb. 3, 1903 


Kewanee, 111. 




Shepley, Chas. H. 


Mar. 2, 1862 


Killed 




Stuart, Charles 


June 9, 1889 


Osceola, 111. 




A. A. G. 








Curtis, Wm. B. 




On.Mt.Wash't'n 




Drum Major. 








Nevans, William 


Mar. 27, 1894 


Chicago 




LlKUTKNANTS. 








Beatty, Thos. M. 


Mar. 15, 1904 


(< 




Boone, Sam. S. 


Feb. 15, 1892 


(1 


Rosehill Cm. 


Eames, Oliver E. 


Feb. 1, 1907 


(( 




Hunter, J. H. 


Jan. 9, 1863 






Jaekson, Wm. 


Dec. 10, 1897 


Elmira, 111. 




Job, Thos. L. 


July 18, 1801 


Hannibal, Mo. 
killed 




I\eeler, L. J. 


Mar. 20, 1880 






Lamberson, C. V. 




Chicago 


St. Boniface 
Cm. 


Raff en, J. W. 


Mar. 28, 1886 


ti 


Gracel'd Cm. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 339 



Commissioned Field and Line Officers— Continued. 



DATE OF WHERE AND PLACE OF 

DEATH. HOW. BURIAL. 



Lieutenants. 
Wharton, Clif. T. Quincy, 111. 

Wood, Wellington Jan. 5, 1863 Of wounds 

Q. M. Sergeant. 
Downs, H. A. Feb. 1, 1909 Chicago 

ENLISTED MEN. 
COMPANY A. 

Ambrose, M. C. June 17, 1894 Chicago Chicago 

Berg, George i^^- Boniface 

Bristol, William " Gracel'd Cm. 

Cherry, John G. Apr. 30, 1863 Killed 
Cleonewerck, D.C. Sept. 20, 1863 Battle Chicka- 

mauga, killed Atlanta, Gu. 
Deitrich, Henry S. July 8, 1909 Chicago Chicago 

Fitch, George W. Elgin, 111. Elgin, 111. 

Ga.ssette, N. T. Mar. 26, 1891 Chicago Rosehill Cm. 

Hanley, Thomas July 21. 1863 Huntsville, Ala., 

of wounds 
Hillas, Robt. B. Dunlap, Iowa Dunlap, Iowa 

Holmes, D. L. Jan. 2, 1863 Stone Rvr., Kl'd On battlef'ld 
Kerr, Charles Feb. 3, 1863 Nashville, Tenn., 

of wounds 
Keebles, Burr B. Jan. 2, 1863 Stone Rvr., Kl'd On battlef'ld 
Lane, Charles Aug. 27, 1862 Richmond Creek, 

Tenn., killed 

Lee, Timothy Nov. 5, 1861 Elizabethtown, 

Ky. Calvary Cm. 

Massev, H. R. A. Chicago Calvary Cm. 



340 



The Nineteenth Illinois 





Company A — Continued. 1 


N A M K . 


DATE OF 


WHERE AND PLACE OF 




DEATH. 


HOW. BURIAL. 


McP'arland, G. M 


. June 25, 1863 


Nashville, of wds. 


McIntjTe, John 


July 21, 1863 


TuUahoma, Tenn. 


McLean, James 


Mar. 4, 1880 


Chicago Rosehill Cm. 


Met calf, F. W. 


Sept. 11, 1863 Near Lafayette, | 






Ga., killed 


Moore, Chas. A. 


Dec. 31, 1862 


Stone Rvr., K'ld On battlef '1«1 


Mulvey, Chris. A 






Pease, Ira A. 


Jan. 2, 1863 


" " " " 


I'hiefer, Nicholas 


1867 


Peoria, 111. Detroit Cm. 


Price, Wm. H. 


Sept. 13, 1908 


Chicago Chicago 


8kinkle, James 




Gracel'd Cm. 


Stewart, James 




" Rosehill Cm. 


Stickney, A. L. 


June 1, 1904 


" 


Sylvester, Gushing Oct. 6, 1883 


(< 


Trueman, Geo. S. 


Jan. 11, 1863 


At home, of wds. 


lUtz, George 


Jan. 2. 1863 


Stone Rvr., Kl'd On l)a^tlefld 


^'ahl, August 




Chattanooga 


\'an Hrunt, W. H. 


Oct. 17, 1887 


Chicago Rosehill Cm. 


Warner, Chas. J. 


Sept. 20, 1863 


Battle Chicka- 
mauga, killed Atlanta, Ga. 


Winslow, Zebetlee 


Oct. 18, 1908 


Chicago Chicago 




COMPANY B. 1 


Jackson, Sergt. J. 


Feb. 23, 1864 


Killed in action 
near Dalton, Ga. 


Bluckwell, Chas. 


Oct. 14, 1863 


Chattanooga, of 
wounds Chattanooga 


BuUis, Samuel D. 


1889 


Adell, Iowa Adell, Iowa 


Purrows, Henry 


Apr. 9, 1862 


Louisville, Ky. 


Cinnamon, James 




Florissant , Col 



The Nineteenth Illinois 341 



Company B — Continued. 



NAME. 



DATE OF WHERE AND PLACE OF 

DEATH. HOW. BURIAL. 



Duncan, J. G. Mar. 11, 1872 
P'leminsr, Wm. 1908 



Harsh, Chester P. Apr. 11, 1863 Murfreesboro, of 

wounds Murfreesboro 

Horrigan, Frank Mav, 2, 1861 Pulaski, Tenn., 

killed 

Hunter, J. H. Jan. 9, 1863 

Hutchinson, Geo. Jan. 29, 1882 Stark County, 111. 

Imes, James O. Dec. 31, 1862 Stone Rvr., kil'd Battlefield 

Ingles, WilUam Sept. 18, 1862 Nashville, Tenn. 

Jackson, David Jany. 8, 1911 

Jordan, Ed. M. Oct. 5, 1863 Chattanooga, of 

wounds Chattanooga 

Jordan, Willard Sept. 20, 1863 Chickamauga, 

killed 
Kenyon, Isaac Dec. 30, 1862 Stone Rvr., kil'd Battlefield 
Leason, Chas. N. Dec. 31, 1862 " " " 
Meigs, J. C. Dec. 4, 1901 

Merrill, James Mar. 17, 1891 Chicago Rosehill Cm. 

Montooth, Sam'l 1899 

Morgan, CorneUusSept. 15, 1861 Pilot Knob, Mo. 
Morgan, Colum. Jan. 7, 1863 Murfreesboro, of 

woimds Murfreesboro 

Newcombe, W. H. Florissant, Col. 

Oziah, Thos. W. Mar. 21, 1908 
Pashley, John S. 
Pask, J. F. Aug. 16, 1906 

Peebles, Robert July U, 1883 Chicago Calvary Cm. 

Robinson, Thos. Kewanee, 111., of 

wounds 



342 



The Nineteenth Illinois 





Company B- 


-Contiiuied. 




NAME. 


DATE OF 


WHERE AND 


PLACE OF 




DEATH. 


HOW. 


BlUIAL. 


Ryerson, Geo. N. 


Jan. 2, 1863 


Stone Rvr., kil'd Battlefield | 


Stono, CJcorgo H. 


Nov., 1894 


Kewanee, 111. 


Kewanee, 111. 




COMPANY C. 




Borkvort, Peter 


Feb. 26, 1863 


Stone River, of 








wounds 


Nashville 


Chase, Ira J.* 


May 11, 1895 


Lubec, Me. 


Danville, Ind. 


Davis, Jas. A. 


Apr. 19, 1862 


Tuscumbia, Tenn., | 






killed 




Flinn, Michael 






Calvary Cm. 1 


(Jould, George 


Nov. 28, 1863 


Chattanooga, of | 






wounds 


Chattanooga 


Hennesy, M. D. 


June 17, 1893 


Quincy, 111. 


(Quincy, 111. 


I(h'ar, Charles 






Killed' 


Ives, John 


Sept. 27, 1912 






Keeler, Louis J. 


Mar. 20, 1880 Chicago 


Rosehill Cm. 


Kelley, James 


Sept. 20, 1863 


('hickamauga, 








killed 


Chattanooga 


Kennedy, Anthony 






Lineoln, Fayall 


July 20, 1872 


Palatine, 111. 


Palatine, 111. 


MeKeeby,Edward June, 1864 


KiUed 




McKeeby, James 


Jan. 30, 1882 


Chicago 


Gracel'd Cm. 


Rodgers, A. Y. 


Mar. 27, 1883 


a 


Rosehill Cm. 


Smirnoff, Alex. 


Sept. 20, 1863 


Chickamauga, 
killed 




Strothers, Geo. C 


Nov. 14, 1891 


Quincy, 111. 


(Quincy, 111. 


Sweezy, Henry 


Jan. 3, 1863 


Stone River, of 








wounds 


Murfreesboro 


Tabor, John 


Sept. 20, 1863 


Chickamauga, 
killed 




*Was Governor 


ot Indiana. 







The Nineteenth Illinois 343 





Company C- 


-Continued. 


NAME. 


DATE OF 


WHERE AND PLACE OF 




DEATH. 


HOW. BURIAL. 


Tapley, Mark S. 


1912 




Topp, August 




Died in Au(l(>r- 
sonvillc Pri.son 


Wilson, Thos. J. 


Mar. 8, 1895 






COMPANY D. 1 


Aiken, Alexander 


Aug. 28, 1861 


Ironton, Mo., kid. 


Anderson, A. E. 


Feb. 26, 1902 


Mt.OhveCm. 


Daggy, H. C. 


Jan. 5, 1863 


Murfreesboro, of 
wounds 


Deer, Jackson 


Mar. 29, 1862 


Nashville, Tenn. Nashville 


Dennis, C. W. 


Mar. 13, 1862 


i( " it 


P'erris, Charles 


Jan., 1911 




Gates, Henry 


Jan. 24, 1862 


Bacon Creek, Ky. Bacon Creek 


(ioldsmith, Alex. 


Dec. 26, 1907 




Cioldsmith, J. 


Dec. 31, 1862 


Stone River of 

woimds Battlefield 


Haynie, J. Henry 


April 14, 1912 


Newton Centre, 

Mass. 


Holmes, E. O. 


June 16, 1862 


Winchester, Tenn., 
killed 


Hutchins, Ed. W. 




Chicago (Iracel'd Cm. 


Madden, Samuel 


Jan. 25, 1863 


Murfreesboro, of 
wounds 


Mahoney, Thos. 


Dec. 9, 1863 


Chattanooga, of 
wounds in Bat- 
tle Chickamauga 


McCrackin, Robt 


Jan. 2, 1863 


Stone River, kid. Battlefield 


Phillips, Joseph 


Jan. 29, 1862 


Bacon Creek, Ky. Bacon Creek 



344 



The Nineteenth Illinois 





COMP.WY D- 


—Continued. 


NAME. 


DATE OF 


WHERE AND PLACE OF 




DEATH. 


HOW. BURIAL. 


Sandler, Lewis 




Died in Ander- 
sonville Prison 


St anger, Jacob B. 


Aug. 11, 1909 


Chicago St. Boniface 
Cm. 


\\ illarti, Thos. 


Nov., 190;i 


St. Charles, 111. St. Charles 




COMPANY E. 1 


Anderson, Mat. 


Sept. 29, 1862 


Of wounds rec'd 
at Chickamauga 


Austin, Isaac 


Mar. 5, 1862 




Bennett, John 




Soldiers' Home Quincy 


Bourk, John 


Apr. 11, 1862 


Louisville, Ky. 


iireinner, Wm. C 


Mar. 27, 1887 


Chicago Roseliill Cm. 


lirosiiahan, John 




Soldiers' Home Milwaukee 


Carniichael, D. 


Jan. 2, 1863 


Nashville Tenn. Nashville 


Chield, Charles 




Soldiers' Home Quincy 


Fitzpatrick, J. 


Sept. 11, 1862 


Nashville 


Fraser, Alex. McL 


Mar. 16, 1880 




Griswold, Jos. C. 




Died in .\nder- 
sonville Prison 


(Juthrie, Peter F. 


Sept. 11, 1900 Chicago Mt. Olive | 


Huntinjiiton, J. C. 


Feb. 28, 1863 


Nashville, of wds. Nashville 


lions, Andrew 




Chattanooga 


Joel, George 


Jan. 5, 1863 


Murfreesboro, of 

wounds Mvufreesboro 


Kelley, Martin 


Sept. 17, 1861 


Killed 


Lawler, Thos. G. 


Feb. 3, 1908 


Rockford, 111. llockford. 111. 


Mann, Andrew 


Sept. 15, 1862 


Niishville, Tenn., 
killed Nashville 



The Nineteenth Illinois 345 





Company E- 


—Continued. 


NAME. 


DATE OF 


WHERE AND PLACE OF 




DEATH. 


HOW. BURIAL. 


McGraw, James 


Sept. 12, 1862 


Nashville, Tenn., 
killed 


Noble, J. G. P. 


Jan. 6, 1863 


Mvn-freesboro, of 

wounds Murfreesboro 


O'Brian, Daniel 


Dec. 1, 1863 


Chattanooga Chattanooga 


Patterson, Wm. 


Nov. 25, 1863 


Killed at Battle 
Missionary Ridge 


Reynolds, J. H. 


Apr. 16, 1900 


Chicago Calvary Cm. 


Rimer, John 


July 4, 1863 


Killed Nashville 


Skipsey, Joseph 


Feb. 26, 1883 




Steel, George 


July 14, 1868 


Chicago Gracel'd Cm. 


Strang, Stephen 


Oct. 1, 1862 


Chattanooga 


Walsh, Thos. C. 


Apr. 10, 1863 


Chattanooga, of 

wounds Chattanooga 


Welch, Thomas 


Sept. 15, 1862 


Nashville, Tenn., 
killed Nashville 




COMPANY F. 1 


Job, Lt. Thos. L. 


July 18, 1861 


Hannibal, Mo., 
killed 


Afland, Wm. 


Jan. 15, 1863 


Murfreesboro, of 

wounds Murfreesboro 


Bigby, Green 


Mar. 1, 1864 


Chattanooga 


Bobbitt, J. W. S. 


Sept. 17, 1861 


Killed 


Bobbitt, S. S. A. 


Nov. 25, 1863 


Missionary Ridge, 
killed 


Bouyer, A. J. 


Sept. 20, 1863 Killed at Chicka- | 






mauga Battlefield 


Griffin, Samuel 


Dec. 31, 1862 


Stone River, kid. Murfreesboro 


Hodkin.son, J. 


Oct. 5, 1861 


Of wounds 



340 The Nineteenth Illinois 





Company F- 


-Continued. 


NAMK. 


DATE OF 


WHERE AND PLACE OF 




DEATH. 


HOW. BURIAL. 


Kuninioll, Ja<iues 


June 3, 1894 


Oakw'ds Cm. 


\'alontinc, C. H. 


Sept. 17, 1861 


Killed Rosehill Cm. 


\'oney, Prosper 


Nov. 27, 1863 


Missionary Ridge, 
of wounds 


Slater, Jas. L. 


Mar. 10, 1862 


Of wounds Nashville 


Sullivan, A. J. 


Dec. 11, 1884 






COMPANY H. 1 


Henham, John 


Mar. 6, 1863 


Murfreesboro, of 

woimds Murfreesboro 


Benson, Nels. P. 


Nov. 10, 1893 


Moline, 111. Moline, 111. 


Bergstrom, S. 


Sept. 24, 1898 Bloomington, HI. Bloomington | 


Brown, Joseph G 






(Jould, M. A. 


Feb. 1, 1907 


Moline, 111. Moline, 111. 


Kerns, George 






LawTence, Chas. 


Sept. 20, 1863 Killed at Chicka- | 






mauga 


Mapes, L. B. 


Dee. 1894 




Maxham, H. C. 




Died in Ander- 
sonville 


Maxwell, Jesse 


Dee. 31, 1862 


Stone River, kid. 


Mead, George 




Died in Ander- 
sonville 


Thompson, G. G. 


Apr. 1, 1890 


Moline, 111. Moline, 111. 


Van Order, C. 


May 28, 1912 


Chicago 


Walsh, W. L. 


1897 


Tremont 


Wheeloek, T. D. 


July, 190() 


Moline, 111. Moline, 111. 


Wheelock, E. E. 


1910 


" 


Williams, J. A. 


Jan. 15, 1863 


Nashville, Tenn. Nashville 


Wood, Win. H. 


Nov. 23, 1862 


11 u 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



347 



Company H — Continued. 



NAME. 



DATE OF 
DEATH. 



WHERE AND 
HOW. 



PLACE OF 
BURIAL. 



Young, Daniel E. Oct. 4, 1861 In Ohio 

Youns, Samuel Mar. 4, 1863 Nashville, Tenn. Nashville 

Youngs, John Y. Sept. 1, 1863 



Barras, Henry 
Barton, John R. 
Brown, John 
Bruce, Robert 
Carroll, Lawrence 
Christian, Wald. 
Clark, Samuel 
Coleman, Jacob 
Connelly, M. 
Connor, Henry 
Cowden, Harrison 
Douglas, John 
Frost, William 
Galloway, WiUiam 
Harwick, Wm. 
Ingi-aham, Jerr. 
Jones, Lyman M. 
Lamb, Thomas 
Meather, George 
Mensel, Frederick 
Morrison, Thos. 
Morrissey, John 
Painter, A. H. 
Rhea, Chas. H. 



COMPANY I. 

Sept. 17, 1861 Killed 
Oct. 10, 1863 Of wounds 
Sept. 17, 1861 Killed 



Feb. 3, 1862 Louisville, Ky. 
Sept. 17, 1861 Killed 



Oct. 4, 1862 Nashville, Tenn. Nashville 

Apr. 1, 1883 East Wheehng, 111. 

July 23, 1862 Nashville, Tenn. 

Feb. 22, 1864 " " Nashville 

Sept. 17, 1861 Killed 
1874 or 1875 



348 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



Company I — Continued. 


NAME. 


DATE OF 


WHERE AND PLACE OF 




DEATH. 


HOW. BURIAL. 


Rhine, John 


Oct. 17, 1861 




liinsor, Wni. 


(( 


ti 


Roffncr, A. 


It 


11 


Schlosser, Conradf 


'July 4, 1864 


Chicago Rosehill Cm. 


Simons, H. 


Apr. 20, 1863 


Murfree.sboro, 

Tenn. Murfreesboro 


Smith, Joseph 


Oct. 17, 1861 


Killed 


Trittean, John 


Dec. 31, 1862 


Stone River, kid. 


Vincent, Wm. 


Feb. 25. 1862 


Elizabethtown, Ky. 


Winterstein, Milt( 


")n 






COMPANY K. 1 


Anderson, Thos. 




In Andersonville 
j)rison 


Bhick, John 


Feb. 1882 




Bullen, Edg. M. 


Feb. 3, 1863 


Murfreesboro, of 
wounds 


Chirk, Lyman 


Apr. 14, 1863 


Murfreesboro 


Cobb, Joseph 






Eckart, George 


Sept. 3, 1912 


Oak Park, 111. 


FuUerton, J. C. 


Jan. 2, 1863 


Stone River, kid. 


(Jrady, Robert 


Feb. 18, 1896 


Milwaukee, Sol- 
diers' Home 


Criffen, Dan'l W. 


Dec. 30, 1862 


Stone River, kid. 


Higgins, Charles 


Oct. 16, 1861 


Killed 


James, John T. 


Sept. 3, 1861 


(^uincy. 111. Quincy, 111. 


Kent, Charles 


Feb. 6, 1910 


Chicago 


Ladwick, Chas. 




Eden 


McDonald, Pat'k 


Apr. 4, 1906 


Chicago 


Metz, Loui.s 




East Wheeling, 111. 




J. Henry Haynic, Commaudcr Charles Ward Post, G. A. R. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



349 



Company K— Continiietl. 



NAME. 



DATE OF 
DEATH. 



WHERE AND PLACE OF 
HOW. BURIAL. 



Miller, M. L. Gracel'd Cm. 

Morgan, Charles Feb. 23, 1899 Forest Home 
Morisette, Alex. „, , ,, • 

Otten, R. Dec. 7, 1889 W aldhemi 

Pemb'erton, T. Sept. 20, 1863 Killed at Chicka- 

mauga 
Shephard, Frank Elgin, 111. Elgin, 111. 

Simpson, A. Aug. 10, 1862 Pulaski, Tenn., 

killed 

Stark, Charles 

Stephens, John Apr. 7, 1910 Chicago 

Tincholen, S. H. In Andersonville 

prison 
Uchtman, G. G. Oct. 17, 1899 RosehiU Cm. 

"TAPS." 

"At the Soldiers' Homes, where the Veterans of the Civil 
War are laid to rest, at burials of privates and officers at army 
posts, wherever the last miUtary honors are paid, the .sweet 
notes of this call gives voice to the last farwell." 



^ nil" I'lr I'M |i| '^1 



Put out the lights, Go to sloop. Go to sloop. Go to sleep, Go to 




^=^ 



leep. Put out thoughts, Go to sleep, Go to sloop. 



SOME OFFICIAL REPORTS 
of COMMANDING OFFICERS 



The Nineteenth Illinois 353 



CAPTURE OF BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY. 

Report of Brigadier General O. M. Mitchel. 

Headquarters Third Division, Department of The Ohio. 
BowHng Green, Ky., Feb. 15, 1862. 
General: — I have the honor to announce that the advance 
guard, consisting of Colonel Turchin's Brigade, under cover of 
artillery from each of the batteries commanded by Captain 
Loomis, effected a passage of the river last night by means of a 
large flatboat, which was found by our scouts during the after- 
noon at a large flouring mill about four miles below the town of 
Bowling Green. The advance guard, accompanied by a detach- 
ment of Colonel Kennett's cavaky, supported by three regiments 
of a reserve from the main body, marched upon the town, and 
entered without finding any opposition at five o'clock this morn- 
ing. Our cavalry pickets are now thrown forward five or six 
miles along the raikoad leading to Nashville, the railroad leading 
to Russellville, and the turnpike leading to Nashville. Every 
precaution has been taken to prevent the surprise of our advance 
guard. The entire division is encamped on this side of the river 
near the railroad, and convenient to wood and water. Our 
troops, though they had been on the march for two days and 
without sleep for the greater part of three successive nights, are 
in the highest spirits. I know not how to express my grateful 
acknowledgments to all the officers and soldiers comprising the 
Third Division. Their promptitude, energy and indomitable 
courage will win, I trust, the confidence and approval of the 
general commanding the department and of the entire country. 
Our victory is almost a bloodless one, but- not the less im- 
portant. I find on examination that Bowling Green is suscep- 
tible of the most perfect defense. One of the works on the 
north side of the river is admirably constructed and beautifully 
finished. I regret the loss of many valuable buildings in the 
town by fire. Our effort to drive the enemy from the town by 
artillery did not prevent them from firing the depot and several 
other pubUc buildings. We found a large supply of corn 



354 The Nineteenth Illinois 

partially consuined by tiro. One locomotive on the track was 
injured badly by burning the wood in the tender. Five or six 
locomotives in the engine house have been partially destroyed 
by the fire. Three of them, it is thought, may be repaired. 
We find on the track at the depot .several platform cars, some 
house cars, several hand cars, and a piece of artillery mounted 
upon a i)latform car ready for removal, all of which the enemy 
was comi)elled to abandon, by our unexpected attack. A large 
supply of flour and beef had been distributed among the citizens; 
should our troops require it, I shall feel it to be my duty to use 
these stores as the property of the United States. Other stores, 
consisting of boxes of boots and shoes, sugar, coffee, kegs of nails, 
})arrels of whiskej^ tents, and saddles have fallen into our liands, 
t he enemy being unable to remove them from (ieneral Hindman's 
former headquarters to the South side of the river. Indeed, our 
ajjproach was .so rajHd and so unexpected that the first intelli- 
gence the enemy had of our jiresence was communicated by the 
explosion of a shell near the depot . 

I am informed by the inhabitants that our firing created the 
greatest consternation, and that the troops of the enemy precip- 
itately abandoned the town, which but for this they would have 
done probably at an early day, feeling that other points had be- 
come of greater importance, and as their force was limited in 
number th(\v were com])elled to concentrate them where most 
needed. 

The railroad from this point to the tunnel is in perfect con- 
dition. The line of telegraph is also complete. About four 
miles and a half of track have been destroyed by burning the 
ties and bending the rails. If other rails are sent forward with 
chairs and spikes promptly, I think a single regiment could open 
the road in a week. I shall establish today a ferry across the 
river near the turnpike bridge. Captain Yates, commanding 
Mechanics and Engineers, reports that the bridge can be in 
order so as to pass teams in four or five days. 

I send this morning a very large train of wagons to Green 
River for supplies and forage. The quartermaster has been 
ordered to the country to purchase beef, cattle, mutton, and 
pork. If orders were given to send by rail our supplies and forage 
as far as the railway is in condition it would greatly aid us in 
supi)lying the division. It is imjwrtant that some arrangement 



The Nineteenth Illinois 355 

bo m;i(h> by moan.s of which our mails may be rct-eivod rcfiuhvrly 
tind promptly. 

1 respectfully request your orders as to the disposition of 
those troops which have been sent forward to support my di- 
vision. I think it important that Glasgow should be occupied 
for the present by one brigade. With that force thus posted 
I feel that our present position can be held against any force 
which the enemy may be able to send against us. The com- 
manding general will please announce to the country the fall of 
Bowling Green and its present occupation by United States 
troops. Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

O. M. MlTCHEL, 

Brigadier General. 



CAPTURE AND OCCUPATION OF HUNTSVILLE. 

(Extract from report of Brigadier General Ormsby M. Mitchel.j 
Headquarters Third Division. 

Huntsville, Ala., April 11, 1862. 

Sir: — After a forced march of incredible difficulty, leaving 
Fayetteville yesterday at twelve M., my advance guard, consist- 
ing of Turchin's Brigade, Kennett's Cavalry, and Simonson's 
Battery, entered Huntsville this morning at six o'clock. The 
city was taken completely by surprise, no one having considered 
the march practicable in that time. We have captured about 
two hundred prisoners, fifteen locomotives, a large amount of 
I^assenger, box, and platform cars, the telegraph apparatus and 
offices, and two Southern mails. We have at length succeeded 
in cutting the great artery of railway intercommunication be- 
tween the Southern States. 

Very respectfull3% 

Your obedient servant, 

O. M. MiTCHEL, 

Brigadier General Commanding. 

Capt. J. B. Fry, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 



350 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Headquarters Third Division. 

Camp Taylor, Huntsvillc. April 10, 1862. 
Geneual Ohdek No. 93. 

Soldiers! — Your march upon Bowling Green won the thanks 
and confidence of our Commanding General. With Engines and 
Cars captured from the enemy, our Advanced Guard precipitated 
itself upon Nashville. It was now made your duty to seize and 
destroy the Memphis and Charleston Railway, the great Military 
Road of the enemy. With a sui)ply train only sufficient to feed 
you at a distance of two days march your from Depot, you under- 
took the Herculean task of rebuilding twelve hundred feet of 
heavy bridging, which by your untiring energy was accomplished 
in ten days. 

Thus, by a Railway of your own construction, your Depot 
of Supplies was removed from Nashville to Shelbyville, sixty- 
three miles, in the direction of the object of your attack. The 
blow now became practicable. Marching with a celerity such 
as to outstrip any messenger who might have attempted to an- 
nounce your coming, you fell upon Huntsville, taking j^our 
enemy completely by surprise, and cajituring not only his great 
Military Road, but all his Machine Shops, Engines and Rolling 
Stock. 

Thus providing yourselves with ample transportation, j-ou 
have struck blow after blow with a rapidity unparalleled. — • 
Stevenson fell, sixty miles to the East of Huntsville. Decatur 
and Tuscumbia have been in like manner seized and are now 
occupied. In three days you have extended your front of 
ojx^rations more than one himdred and twenty miles; and your 
Morning Gun at Tuscumbia may now be heard by your comrades 
on the battlefield recently made glorious by their ^'ictor3• before 
Corinth. 

A commvmication of these facts to Headquarters has not 
only won the thanks of our Commanding General but those of 
the Department of War, which I announce to you with proud 
satisfaction. 

Accei)t the thanks of your Commander, and let your future 
deeds demonstrate that you can surpass yourselves. 
By order of 

O. M. Mitch EL, 
Brigadier General Commanding. 
W. P. FiitvncK, A. A. G. 



The Nineteenth Illinois ^^^'^ 

EXPEDITION TO CHATTANOOGA. 
(Extract from report of Commanding General.) 

Shelbyville, Tennessee, June 12, 1862. 
Our expedition into East Tennessee has proved successful 
We are returning with eighty prisoners, inchiding a number ot 
prominent officers; also captured a drove of cattle and a large 
quantity of horses intended for the Rebel army. Ihe defeat of 
General Adams' forces in Sweeden's Cove was much more com- 
plete than first reported. He escaped without sword, hat, or 
horse. We silenced the enemy's batteries at Chattanooga on 
the evening of the seventh, after a fierce cannonadmg of three 
hours. On the eighth, at nine o'clock a. m., we reopene.l, 
firing for six hours upon the town and rifle-pits, dnvmg the enemy 
out and forcing him to abandon his works and evacuate the city. 
They burned several raihoad bridges to prevent pursuit, ihe 
Union people in East Tennessee are wild with joy. They meet 
along the roads by hundreds. I shall send you a number of 
their principal persecutors from Sequatchie \ alley. 
Yours very truly, 

James S. Negley, 

Brigadier General. 

GovfcRNOR Andrew Johnson. 

BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 
(Extracts from the official report of the Division Commander^ 
Headquarters Eighth Division, Department o the Cumber and. 
Camp near Murfreesboro, Tenn., January 8, 18b.i. 
Sir— I have the honor to submit the following report of the 
operations of the troops of my command in the engagements with 
the enemy on Stone River : 

In the rear and on the right was a dense cedar 

woods witha broken, rocky surface. From om- P-^^-" --^^ 
roads were cut through the trees in our rear by which to bung 
up the artiUerv and ammunition trains. In front a heavy growth 
o oak timber ;xtended toward the river, which was about a mile 
distant. A narrow thicket crossed our k ft d-gonaUy and 
skirted the base of a cultivated slope, which expanded to the 



358 The Nineteenth Illinois 

width of a mile as it approached tlie Nashville i)ike. This slope 
afforded the enemy his most commanding position (in the center), 
on the crest of which his rifle-pits extended, with intervals, from 
the oak timber immediately in my front to the Nashville i)ike, 
with a battery of four Napoleon and two iron sii'is jjlaced in 
l)osition near the woods, and about eight hundred vards from my 
position. Behind this timber, on the river bank, the enemy 
massed liis columns for the movements of the next day. Their 
skirmishers were driven from our immediate front after a sharp 
contest, in which the Nineteenth Illinois and Seventy-eighth 
Pennsylvania ^'oh^nteers displayed admirable efficiency. The 
position of my conunand was heUl under a heavy fire until dark- 
ness terminated the skirmishing in our front, by which time we 

had inflicted considerable loss upon the enemy 

Early the next morning, and before the heavy fog had drifted 

away from our front, the enemy in strong force attacked and sur- 
jirised Cieneral McCook's right, commencing a general action, 
which increased in intensity toward his left. Sheridan's Division 
stood its ground manfully, supported by the Eighth Division, 
repulsing and driving the enemj' at every advance. 
For four hours the Eighth Division, with a portion of Sheridan's 
and Palmer's Division, maintained its position amid a murderous 
storm of lead and iron, strewing the gi'ound with heroic dead. 
The enemy, maddened to desperation by the determined resist- 
ance, still pressed forward fresh troops, concentrating and forming 
them in a concentric line on either flank. By eleven o'clock 
Sheridan's men, with their ammunition exhausted, were falling 
back. General Rousseau's reserve and General Palmer's Di- 
vision had retired in rear of the cedars to form a new line. The 
artillery ammunition was expended; that of the infantry reduced 
to a few rounds; the artillery horses were nearly all killed or 
wounded; my ammunition train had been sent back to avoid 
capture; a heavy column of the enemy was marching directly 
to oin- rear through the cedars; communication with General 
Rosecrans was entirely cut off, and it was manifestly impossible 
t(j hold the jKjsition without eventually making a hopeless, 
fruitless sacrifice of my whole Division. To retire was but to 
cut our way through the ranks of the enemy. The order was 
given and manfully executed, driving back the foe and checking 



The Nineteenth Illinois 359 

it.s ai)proachinK oolurnn in our rear Colonols 

Stanley and Miller now promptly reformed their brigades with 
the remaining portions of the batteries, and took possession on 
the new line, as designated by Major General Thomas. Shortly 
afterward the Twenty-ninth Brigade* was ordered to the left to 
repel an attack from the enemy's cavalry on the trains. 

The troops remained in line all night and the next day in 
order of battle until noon, when the Division was ordered to the 
right of General McCook's line, in expectation of an attack upon 
his fi'ont. January 2d, at one o'clock p. m. my command was 
ordered to the support of General Crittenden on the left, and took 
lJositi.on in the rear of the batteries on the West bank of Stone 
River. About three o'clock p. m. a strong force of the enemy, 
with artillery, advanced rapidly upon General Van Cleve's 
Division, which, after sustaining a severe fire for twenty or thirty 
minutes, fell back in considerable disorder, the foe pressing 
vigorously forward to the river bank. At this important mo- 
ment the Eighth Division was ordered to advance, which it did 
promptly, the men crossing the river and charging up the steep 
bank with imflinching bravery. The Nineteenth Illinois, 
Twenty-first, Eighteenth, Sixty-ninth, and Seventy-fourth 
Ohio, Eleventh Michigan, Thirty-seventh Indiana, and Seventy- 
eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers displayed their usual prompt- 
ness and gallantry. Four pieces of artillery and a stand of colors 
were captured at the point of the bayonets, and a large number of 
prisoners, the enemy retreating in disorder 

I refer to my command with feelings of great pride for the 
living, and personal sorrow for the dead. Without a murmur 
they made forced marches over almost impassable roads, through 
drenching winter rains, without a change of clothing or blankets, 
deprived of sleep or repose, constantly on duty for eleven days, 
living three days on a pint of flour and parched corn. Ever 
vigilant, always ready, sacrificing their lives with a contempt of 
peril, displaying the coolness, determination, and high discipline 
of veterans, they are entitled to our Country's gratitude. Penn- 
sylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, and Ten- 
nessee may proudly inscribe upon their scrolls of fame the names 

* The Nineteenth Illiiioi!? was in the Twenty-ninth Brigade, Eighth 
Division. 



360 The Nineteenth Illinois 

of the Sovent y-t'ighth Pennsylvania, Ninetoontli Illinois, Thirty- 
seventh Indiana, Nell's section of Kentucky Battery, Eifihte<>nth. 
Twenty-first, Sixty-ninth, and Seventy-fourth Ohio, Eleventh 
Michigan, and Spear's East Tennessee Brigade. . 



I have the honor to remain, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

James S. Nkuley, 

Brigadier General. 
Majok Cieokgk E. Flynt, 

Chief of Staff. 

WHAT THE COMMANDING GENERAL SAID. 

In his official report to the Adjutant General of the Army. 
Major General W. S. Rosecrans wrote: "If there are manj^ 
more bloodier battles on record, considering the newness and 
inexperience of the troops, both officers and men, or if there has 
been more true fighting qualities displayed by any people, I 
should be plea.sed to know it." 

COLONEL STANLEY'S REPORT. 

(Extracts from the official report of the Brigade Commander.) 
Headquarters Twenty-Ninth Brigade, Eighth Division. 

Battlefield near Murfreesboro, Tenn., Jan. 4, 1863. 
Sir: — Before the smoke of battle is over, and while the dead 
lie uninterred, I desire to make the following important report : 
On the thirtieth of December, 1862, the Eighth Division 
occupied the extreme right of the advance of the Army at this 
j)()int, my brigade occupying the right. The enemy were in 
our immediate front and extending to our right. It was expected 
that CJeneral McCJook would occupj' our Right and first engage 
the enemy there. I directed Colonel Scott, with his regiment 
(Nineteenth Illinois), as skirmishers, to protect our right flank, 
but not to bring on an engagement, as you had ordered not to do 
so at that time. It, however, became necessary to occupy some 
buildings in a field, from which we were annoyed by tiie enemy, 
au(.l Colonel Scott drove them from the place and afterward held 



The Nineteenth Illinois 361 

it. We were then annoyed from a barn and brick-kiln in our 
advance and right, and Colonel Scott charged and drove the 
enemy away. Quite a number of them were killed in these 
skirmishes and some two or three of our men were wounded. 

During the day General McCook came up on our right and 
sharply engaged the enemy. At night we lay on our arms, and 
early on the morning of December 31, our skirmishers advanced 
and drove the enemy's skirmishers partly through the woods in 
our front, and General McCook engaged them on our right, but 
eventually fell back, and then a very heavy force was precipi- 
tated on our front and right, and on the Seventh Brigade, to my 
left. This infantry force was supported by a battery on our 
front and by another in intrenchments on our left ; the firing was 
very severe; but the Brigade (as also did the Seventh Brigade 
on my left), not only sustained the attack without falling back, 
but poured such a well directed fire upon the foe that they fal- 
tered, and their onward rush was stayed. However, the Union 
troops, both on our right and left, had fallen back so far as to 
bring the Confederates on three sides of us and they were fast 
closing on our rear. At this time General Negley directed his 
Division to cut its way through and to join the troops further at 
the rear; and this we did in good order, halting at two points and 
checking the enemy by well directed volleys which by this time 
they had learned to fear. 

After we had formed in line behind the crest of a low hill, 
an officer from another Division rode to the front' of the Eight- 
eenth Ohio and ordered them forward, himself leading the way, 
and made the charge upon the enemy in the woods; but the foe 
was so strong there that the regiment was compelled to fall back 
with heavy loss. As soon, however, as I saw the move, I called 
upon the Eleventh Michigan to follow me to their support, 
which they did most gallantly; but I soon called them off, as they 
had no support and the fire was murderous. I exceedingly re- 
gi-etted this order from an officer not having command over me, 
and without consulting yourself or me. Many of my men were 
left on the field. 

On January 2, the enemy attacked the Left flank of our 
Army in strong force of infantry and artillery, and soon drove om- 
scattered forces to the rear. General Rosecrans and General 



302 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Neglcy were both en the ground occupied by the Eighth Division, 
and ordered my Brigade forward across Stone River to stay 
the advancing forces. This was done with a will, the Nineteenth 
Ilhnois leading, accompanied by the Seventh Brigade. They met 
the enemy with cheers, and with such determination that very 
soon the enemy gave way, followed closely by us, and were 
tlriven from every position up the hill through the timber and 
t hrough an open field to wootls beyond. 

In this gallant advance my brigade charged a battery and 
took four brass pieces. We occupied the field, and soon re- 
enforcements came to our relief, but it was nearly dark, and I 
did not deem it prudent to advance further without orders, as 
there was a battery in the woods beyond, which took effect on 
us at short range. I here rallied my men and formed a little to 
the rear of the crest of the hill. It was now about dark, and, 
following your order, I withdrew my command to our former 
position. 

In this engagement, as also the one of December 31, the 
Seventh Brigade acted in concert with my own, and sometimes 
the two, to some extent, were intermingled, but fought together 
without confusion, and thus troops from Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois and Michigan stood side by side, each vying with 
the other in the conflict. . They acted with that 

bravery expected of well-tiisciplined troops fighting in a just 
cause. They stood manfully and bravely the appaUing fire of a 
much larger force, and in the last engagement met and repulsed 
a superior force, elated with a supposed victory. The officers 
and men, almost without excejMion, liehaved with the most 
determined bravery. 

Colonel Stoughton, of the Eleventh Michigan, was in the 
thickest of the fight, encouraging his men, and throughout both 
engagements acted with the most distinguished gallantry. Good 
judgment was also disi)layed by him in i-allying his own men and 
others of my brigade at the crest of the hill in the last engagement, 
during my temporary absence on anotli(>r i)art of the field. 
Colonel Scott of the Nineteenth Illinois, was also where danger 
was most imminent, and by his coolness and bravery aided his 
regiment in its gallant defense on the first day, and its heroic 



The Nineteenth Illinois 

charge on the second. He was seriously wounde.l in tlie second 
engagement, and carried ..iT the tiel.l cheering and encourasmR 

his men. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

T. R. Stanley, 
Colonel Commanding. 

Capt. James A. Lowuie, 

Asst. Adjt. Gen. and Chief of Staff, Eighth Division. 

(Official report of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander W. Raff en.) 

Headquarters Nineteenth Regiment lUinois Volunteer Infantry. 
Camp near Murfreesboro, Tenn., January 10, 1863. 
,Sir:_I would respectfully submit to you my report of the 
part taken by the Nineteenth Regiment Illinois Infantry in the 
late engagements before Murfreesboro. On Tuesday morning, 
December 30, 1862, the regiment, under the command of its 
colonel, Joseph R. Scott, was, by your orders, deployed as skir- 
mishers to take possession of and hold certain buildings on the 
Nolensville pike. On the north side of said pike, on our front 
and right, opposite the above buildings, was a brick yard at 
which we found the enemy in strong nunbers. We succeeded 
after a short struggle, in driving in their line of skirmishers 
which had been thrown out, taking possession of the designated 
places. We held the position thus gained until relieved, about 
twelve M., by the Forty-second Ilhnois on our right and the 
Eighteenth Ohio on our left. We then retired, and were held 
as a reserve, remaining in that position until next morning, the 
thirty-first of December, 1862. 

\t about nine o'clock a. m. of that date, we became engaged 
with a large force of the enemy. By your orders we changed 
our position, for the purpose of protecting and preventing if 
possible, our Right wing from being turned, which after some tw-o 
hours' hard fighting, the enemy succeeded in doing. We retired, 
faUing back in line of battle to a cedar forest, where we hal ed, 
but were ordered to fall back still further. We again made a 
stand some fifty yards from the edge of the forest engaging he 
enemy alone. We held our position perhaps half an hour, but 
our colonel, seeing that we were in danger of being outflanked 
ordered a retreat, which was done in good order, falling back to 



363 



364 The Nineteenth Illinois 

tho railroad. By your orders we changed ovir position several 
times during the day, but we were not engaged in action. 

On Thursday, January 1, 1863, we changed our position 
several times, but did not become engaged with the enemy. 

On the second, about 3:30 o'clock p. m., the enemy suddenly 
attacked the Left of our army with great fury, and after some 
severe fighting the Left gave way. We were then ordered for- 
ward to their support. Charging upon the enemy, we drove 
them back. Crossing Stone Hiver, we forced them beyond 
their batteries, capturing four of their guns and remaining 
masters of the field. 

Early in this engagement oin- colonel, while gallantly leading 
his men, fell, severely, but not dangerouslj', wounded; the com- 
mand then devolved on me; and I here take great pleasure in 
testifying to the bravery and good conduct of both officers and 
men in my command. But where all did their duty so nobly it 
would be unjust to discriminate. 

Inclosed i)lease find list of casualties in my command. 

Trusting the above may prove satisfactory, I am, 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Alex. W. Raffen, 
Lieutenant Colonel, 
Commanding Nineteenth Illinois Infantry. 
Col. T. R. Stanley, 

Commanding Twenty-ninth Brigade. 



DAVIS' CROSSROADS (GEORGIA) ENGAGEMENT. 

(Report of the Brigade Commander, Colonel T. R. Stanlej'.) 

Headquarters Second Brigade, Second Division, 

Fourteenth Army Corps. 

In the Field, September 12, 1863. 
Major: — ^In compliance with your orders of this date, I 
have the honor to report the following list of casualties in my 
command in the engagement of yesterday. In submitting this 
repoit I deem it proper to add an account of the operations of 
my command in the engagement above alluded to. In the 
skirmishing during the early part of the day nearly every com- 
pany of my command was more or less engaged and acquitted 
them.selves with credit and honor. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 3()5 

On taking my position on the ridge at Davis', as ordcu-ed by 
Major General Negley, I placed the Nineteenth Illinois Volunteer 
Infantry and Eleventh Michigan Volunteer Infantry in line on 
the slope in front of the Fourth Indiana Battery, and in rear of 
a fence, directing them to build breastworks of rails and stones 
to protect themselves from musketry, which they did promptly 
and effectually. The Eighteenth Ohio was placed in double 
column as a reserve. Captain Schultz, commanding Battery M, 
First Ohio Volunteer Artillery, was ordered to take position on 
the side of the hill in my rear. He then opened on the enemy, 
firing over us with one section, and worked with good effect 
until ordered to retire. 

I sent four companies of the Nineteenth Illinois forward, 
one to a barn, two to the bank of the creek on the right, and one 
behind the stone wall on the left and near the creek. This last, 
with one company of the Twenty-fourth Illinois, which was 
temporarily there, fired a volley on a mounted group of the 
enemy (as they were fiercely and rapidly pursuing two of the 
Twenty-fourth Illinois, who had fallen to the rear) which unseated 
all of the foe in sight, killing thirteen, as reported, and wounding 
a large number. It is believed the pursuing party was a general 
officer and his staff at the head of a column of mounted men. 

The enemy placed a battery in position, that was well han- 
dled and did terrible execution, especially upon the Eighteenth 
Ohio, which had been placed on the right flank to guard against 
the foe, who appeared there in strong force. Finding that it 
would be necessary for me to remain on or near the left in order 
to observe the enemy in that quarter, I gave Colonel Stoughton, 
who was on the right, instructions to act at discretion with his 
regiment and the section of artillery on his right, all of which he 
did (sending out one of his companies as skirmishers) with proper 
judgment. 

I have already said the enemy appeared in heavy force on 
my right; this force consisted of a column of infantry and 
several pieces of artillery. Seeing the emergency, Captain 
Waggener, my assistant adjutant general (I being on the 
left), ordered the Eighteenth Ohio into position there 
and immediately reported the fact to me, which I approved. 
The artillery soon opened, and I was then exposed to a 
galling cross-fire. The Eighteenth, however, with the company 



3(36 The Nineteenth Illinois 

of the Eleventh Michigan skirmishing and the aid of t he- 
section of artillery, directed by Colonel Stoughton, held the foe 
at bay in that quarter. In the meantime the enemy in front, 
taught a severe lesson by the Nineteenth's company behind the 
stone wall, kept at a respectable distance. His bat tery, however, 
ilid fearful execution, throwing shell and grape with remarkable 
])recision. 

While this was being done, I was momentarily on the right; 
the four pieces on the left were withdrawn without my order, thus 
leaving me at that point at the mercy of the well directed fire of 
the enemy's artillery. Soon after, however, the train having 
arrived. Major General Negley ordered me to retire; this I did 
in good order, bringing with me the section on my right, which 
remained until ordered by me to leave. 

A portion of the Eighteenth Ohio was thrown temporarily 
in confusion, and I retired them first, bringing up the Nineteenth 
Illinois and Eleventh Michigan in rear of the section and skir- 
mishers to their rear. However, I soon had the Eighteenth 
Ohio also in Une and retired with the Brigade in line of battle, 
ready at any time to face about to the enemy. The 

foe suffered much more severelj' than we, and they did not follow 
us up closely as we fell back. 

^'ery respectfully your obedient servant, 

T. R. St.\.\ley. 
Colonel Commanding. 
Major James A. Lowrie, 

Assistant Adjutant General, Second Division. 

OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE COMMANDERS OF OUR 
BRIGADE AT CHICKAMAUGA. 

Headfjuaiters Second Brigade, Second Division, 
Fourteenth Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland. 

Chattanooga, Tenn., September 2S, ISti;?. 
Major: — In compliance with your onlei, r(>quiring a report 
(jf the operations of my brigade from the time of leaving Cave 
Springs, Ala., up to our arrival at this point, I have the honor to 
submit the following. 

My command consisting of the Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer 
Infantry, Nineteenth Illinois \'olunteer Infantry, Eleventh 



The Nineteenth Illinois 307 

Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and Battery M, First Ohio Volun- 
teer Artillery, (the Sixty-Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry having 
been left at Cowan, Tenn.), left Cave Spring ami crossed the Ten- 
nessee River at Caperton's Ferry on the evening of the first of 
September. We continued the march from day to day, crossing 
Raccoon Mountain, and encamped on Lookout Mountain 
September 8. That same day the Eleventh Michigan Infantry, 
under Colonel Stoughton, was thrown forward and moved down 
the mountain, clearing out the heavy timber with which the road 
had been blockaded, and, skirmishing briskly, drove the enemy 
for more than a mile and a half, and occupied Steven's Gap. 
September 9 my brigade made a reconnaissance to the front and 
drove the enemy's outposts some three miles, with light firing. 
The next day we moved forward to Davis' Crossroads, and, 
after some manoeuvreing in that vicinity, the engagement took 
place on the eleventh of September, an official report of which 
you have already received. 

Falling back to Bailey's Crossroads, we remained there 
until the seventeenth of September, when we moved off on the 
Chattanooga Road and encamped at Crawfish Spring on the 
night of the 18th. On the morning of the nineteenth I moved 
under orders toward the left and took position on an elevated 
point designated by Major General Negley, with the Eleventh 
Michigan thrown considerably forward. In the afternoon I 
advanced my three regiments in line of battle, and, in connection 
with the Third Brigade, deployed on my right, drove the enemy 
out of the woods in our front and regained the gi-ound which had 
been held and lost during the day by the troops of some other 
command. Later in the day we advanced still further and drove 
the enemy, with heavy firing, from an open field in our front. 
We subsequently withdrew to the edge of the woods, constructing 
light breastworks of rails and remained during the night. 

At an early hour the next morning (Sunday, September 20), 
I received orders from Major General Negley to withdraw from 
my position and move off up the road toward the Left. I had 
moved but a short distance, in compliance with this command, 
when I was ordered to return to the former position, which I did, 
driving the enemy, who had in the meantime advanced and oc- 
cupied it. I was reUeved shortly afterward by a brigade from 
General Wood's Division, and again ordered toward the left, 



368 The Nineteenth Illinois 

where the battle was raging loudly and heavily. Having moved 
my eommand, including the battery which had remained all 
night in position on the hill in my rear, some distance on and to 
the left, on a line with the Rossville Road, I was ordered by Major 
General Negley to push my regiments quickly into the woods on 
to the right, to support the forces engaged therein. This I did, 
moving rapidly forward and leaving my battery in immediate 
charge of Major CJeneral Negley, imder whose orders Captain 
Schultz, commanding, having at that time become separated 
from the brigade, acted during the i)rincipal part of the day. I 
pushed mj' regiments quicklj^ through the woods and reported 
to the officer in command, who ordered me farther to the left, 
to report to whomsoever I found in command there. Upon 
reaching a certain point I was ordered into line at right angles 
with the front, but finding nothing to do there, I pushed forward 
again imtil I found Major General Thomas, from whom I re- 
ceived definite and positive orders to advance to the support of 
Brigadier General John Beatty, commanding First Brigade, 
who was being hard pressed. Having reported to Beatty, under 
his direction, I formed my line of battle at right angles with the 
road. This was hardly done when the enemy advanced on us in 
heavy force. The Eighteenth Ohio and the Eleventh Michigan, 
forming the first line, opened a rapid and effective fire, which 
checked the enemy. Observing this, I ordered the Nineteenth 
Illinois forward, and on their closing up I ordered the line for- 
ward to which all responded with cheers of triumph, and the 
enemy fled in dismay, though several times our number. We 
thus drove them for a half mile or more, strewing the giound 
with killed and wounded, and taking a large number of prisoners. 
Among the latter were Brigadier (Jcneral Adams and one or two 
of his staff, who surrendered to officers of this Brigade, and were 
sent to the rear under guard by the Assistant Adjutant General, 
Captain R. J. \\'aggener. I myself talked with General Adams 
(who told me his name) and know that he was captured by my 
brigade. He was woimded and asked me to send him a stretcher, 
which I was unable to do. Quite a number of other officers were 
near him, dead and wounded, and one of my officers who observed 
closely thinks there was another Brigadier General among the lot. 
Our volleys were destructive to them, and I attribute their utter 
rout to the skillful fire and impetuosity of my brigade. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 360 

Having followed up the enemy a considerable distance, and 
finding myself wholly unsupported, I slowly fell back a few paces 
under heavy fire fr.om the Washington Battery (which had 
opened on my line) , for the piu-pose of closing up my ranks and se- 
curing some support. General Beatty in the meantime had 
brought up a brigatle to my rear, which he had "borrowed," and 
I halted my command in their front, imforming them that I 
would check the enemy and, if the fire became too hot, would fall 
back on them and fight with them, but was only allowed a few 
minutes' rest before the enemy in strong force attacked me. 
Being hard pressed I gave the order, after firing a number of 
rounds, to fall back fighting to the supoprt. Upon looking 
around, however, I found the support had disappeared and we 
were left to our own resources. 

I would be glad to state what brigade this was that so shame- 
fully deserted us without firing a gun, but, although I think I am 
correctly informed, I am not sufficiently certain to express an 
opinion. 

My brigade continued to fall back slowly, halting and firing 
at intervals, presenting a good front to the enemy, until I with- 
drew my command and took a position next to some log buildings 
on the brow of a hill near the Rossville Road. The enemy soon 
began a fierce and determined attack on this position, defended 
as it was by part of a battery of the Fourth United States Ar- 
tillery, which did its duty well, supported by my brigade and some 
scattered fragments of other regiments. While conducting the 
defense of this point and earnestly striving to employ the forces 
under my command to the best advantage I was struck by a ball 
or piece of shell on the right shoulder, and finding myself unable 
to continue longer on the field, I turned over the command to 
Colonel Stoughton, of the Eleventh Michigan, who conducted 
the brigade through the rest of the engagement of that day, and 
until we marched, on the night of Monday, 21st, from Rossville 
to this place. I was, however, with the brigade on the morning 
and throughout the day on Monday, assisting so far as able. 
During the charge heretofore spoken of, Brigadier General 
Beatty was with me and by his cool and gallant bearing added 
to the enthusiasm of my officers and men, and will be long re- 
membered bv them. 



370 The Nineteenth Illinois 

I cannot stato the nvinibcr of prisoners takon, for the reason 
that they wore sent to the rear to other eoniniands. The several 
eonnnandinp; officers discharged their duties faithfully and well. 
Colonel Stoughton, of the Eleventh Miciiigan, displayed the same 
coolness and fearlessness as at .^tone's Hiver. I cautioned him 
that he exposed himself too much but saw no change in that 
res])ect afterwards. The same may be .saitl of Lieutenant 
Colonel llaffen, of the Nineteenth Illinois, who was always 
ready, prompt, and courageous; as also of Lieutenant Colonel 
(Jrosvenor, of the Eighteenth Ohio, who with his regiment, was 
in the hottest of the fight. 



Accompanying this is the report of Colonel Stoughton for 
the time he was in command. He sustained himself well and, 
with the brigade made such a fight as is seldom made by so small 
a number of men. After I resumed command I marched to this 
j)()int with the Division, leaving the Sixty-ninth Ohio, which 
joined us at Rossville, Monday, the twenty-first, with regiments 
from other brigades, in charge of Colonel Stoughton, wlio brought 
uj) the rear in good order in the morning. 

Since our arrival here I have been engaged more or less, day 
and night, on the earthworks, and my men have displayed the 
same willingness to labor as to fight. The loss of valuable 
officers and men of my command has been heavy both in killed 
and wounded. A report of the t*asualties has been already for- 
warded. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

T. R. St.\nley, 
Colonel Commanding. 
Maj. James A. Lowrie, 
Assistant Adjutant General. 

REPORT OF COLONEL WILLIAM L. STOUCHTON. 

Ilcadfiuarters Second Brigade, Second Division, 
Fourteenth Army Corps. 

Chattanooga, September 27, 1863. 
Sir: — 1 have the honor to submit the following re- 
port of the operations of the Second Brigade while under me 



The Nineteenth Illinois 371 

in the recent engaffenient . I ii^i.siuned eonnnanil about twelve, 
noon, of the twentieth iiist., Colonel Stanley having l)een 
wounded and left the field. About one o'clock I advanced the 
command about fifty yards and drove the enemy, who had opened 
a scattering fire upon lis, from our immediate front. I then 
placed the Eleventh Michigan and Nineteenth Illinois Regi- 
ments in line of battle, in a strong position, under cover of the 
hill, leaving the Eighteenth Ohio to support a section of the 
Fourth United States Artillery and watch the motions of the foe. 
Soon after the brigade had taken this position the enemy made a 
spirited attack on a hill to my right, occupied by the left of 
General Brannan's Division, apparently driving our troops back. 
I at once ordered the Eleventh Michigan and Nineteenth Illinois 
to their support. These regiments advanced at a double quick 
and charged upon the enemy, driving him from the hill. Im- 
mediately after this charge I was informed by General John 
Beatty that our position upon this hill must be maintained, and 
was directed to use the forces under my command for that pur- 
pose. I thereupon placed my forces along the crest of the hill, 
the Nineteenth Illinois on the right, and the Eleventh Michigan 
Qii the left, and constructed rude breastworks. 

My Brigade was by far the largest, if not the only, organized 
force on the hill, and I accordingly assumed command. The 
fragments of the regiments on the hill and all men found in the 
rear were placed in- the most available positions. About four 
o'clock the enemy made a vigorous attack upon our position, and 
a contest ensued, which in its fierceness and duration has few 
parallels. Our troops without exception, maintained their 
ground with unfaltering courage, and the few who recoiled from 
the storm of bullets were speedily rallied, and returned with re- 
newed vigor. The enemy was in heavy force, and fought with 
the most determined obstinacJ^ As fast as their ranks were 
thinned by our fire they were filled up by fresh troops. They 
pressed forward and charged up to our lines, firing across our 
breastworks, and planted their colors within one hundred feet 
of our own. A dense cloud of smoke enveloped our lines, and in 
some places the position of the foe could only be known by the 
flash of their guns. 



372 The Nineteenth Illinois 

At six p. m. \hv onomj' still hold his position, antl as a last 
resort, I ordered up the Eighteenth Ohio, and rallying every 
man that could be got, charged forward with cheers upon liis 
colors. His flag went down. His lines broke, and fell back from 
the hill. During the fight Brigadier General John lieatty rode 
up and assisted materially in sustaining and inspiring the men. 
His assistance there, and also in sending men forward, was timely 
and very valuable. 

Our ammunition having become exhausted during the fight, 
every cartridge that could be found on the killed and wounded, 
as well as in the boxes of the captured prisoners, were taken and 
distributed to the men. Lieutenant Colonel Raflfen, of the 
Nineteenth Illinois, Lieutenant Colonel Grosvenor, of the 
Eighteenth Ohio, and Lieutenant Colonel Mudge, of the Eleventh 
Michigan, behaved with great coolness and gallantry, and 
managed their respective regiments with skill and al)ility; the 
last named was severely wounded. 



About eight o'clock p. m. orders came from General Brannan 
to retire, and the Brigade was quietlj- formed and marched in 
good order to Rossville. About half an hour before we left a 
raking fire was poured into our ranks by the enemy from a hill 
to our right, which had been occupied and as we supposed was 
still held by General Granger's Reserve Corps. On the morning 
of the twenty-first, by your orders, I took position with my Bri- 
gade on a road leading in a southeasterly direction from Rossville. 
The enemy appeared in force on our front and an artillery fight 
was kept up most of the day. At night the Sixty-ninth Ohio 
was posted as pickets at our front, and according to your orders 
I withdrew the rest of the brigade at twelve o'clock, moving 
the artillery by hand, and formed the column on the Chattanooga 
road, where Colonel Stanley again assumed command. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

William L. Stoughton, 
Colonel Eleventh Michigan Infantry, 
Commanding Second Brigade, 
Maj. James A. Lowrie, 

Assistant Adjutant General, Second Division. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 373 

MISSIONARY RIDGE. 

(Extract from Colonel Moore, Sixty-ninth Ohio.) 

In hi.s official report, dated Headquarters Sixty-ninth Reg- 
iment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Chattanooga, December 5, 1863, 
Colonel Marshall F. Moore, commanding the demi-brigadc, 
says: "I was left in command of the left wing of the brigade, 
composed of the Nineteenth Illinois, Sixty-ninth Ohio, and the 
Eleventh Michigan. Of these the two former named regiments 
were in the first and the last in the second line, the Nineteenth 
Illinois forming the extreme left of the Division. Between two 
and three o'clock p. m. we were directed to move by the left 
flank toward the position occupied by General Sheridan, whose 
Division was formed in line of battle in a strip of timber bordering 
on the marshy plain at the base of the Ridge. After advancing 
until our left was nearly opposite Sheridan's right, we threw out a 
strong hne of skirmishers and moved forward until our main line 
connected with his. The whole line was now ordered to advance, 
and immediately on our emerging from the timber into the open 
plain, the enemy opened on us from the summit of Missionary 
Ridge, with a most deadly fu-e. The command was now given to 
charge, and our line moved off at double-quick with loud cheers, 
the sound of which mingled with the roar of artillery and ex- 
ploding shells. Our skirmishers had now become engaged with 
the enemy, who were occupying a line of rifle-pits at the base of 
the Ridge. Upon these our main line charged and speedily 
drove them out, and a large number of prisoners were taken. 

' 'At these rifle-pits our men halted for a few moments to take 
breath. At the command forward, they moved on up the hill 
promptly, in the face of heavy volleys of musketry and a galling 
fire of grape, cannister and shell from the batteries in front to 
our left, which kept up an oblique fire across the slope of the hill. 
Just above the rifle-pits I was struck down by a piece of shell, 
but soon recovering, I found our line slowly advancing in the 
face of a very destructive fire from the rifle-pit breastworks on 
the crest of the Ridge. Under this fire, our line, though checked 
did not waver. Led by gallant officers, the men continued to 
advance, and when within a few rods of the summit, raised 
another shout and rushed forward, driving the enemy from his 
last stronghold in splendid style. The Nineteenth Illinois and 
Sixty-ninth Ohio, which were in the first line, did not stop at 



374 The Nineteenth Illinois 

the suinniit, hut charjic*! down to the foot of tlic liill on the other 
side, where, having no supi)ort, they halted and reformed. One 
piece of artiUerv and a huge number of prisoners fell into our 
hands after reaching the erest ; among the latter was the Colonel 
of the .Seventh Florida regiment, who surremlered to Lieutenant 
Colonel RafTen, of the Nineteenth Illinois Volunteers. 

"Without wishing to disparage any other troops where all 
behaved so nobly, it is due to the regiments of my command to 
say that thej- were, if not the first, at least among the very first, 
to gain the siunmit. Our colors were among the first planted on 
the crest, although the Color bearers of both the Nineteenth and 
the Sixty-ninth fell mortally wounded before they had enjoyed 
what they so richly deserved — the satisfaction of seeing the 
Standards they had so honorably borne waving over Missionary 
Ridge. The Colors of the Sixty-ninth Ohio were taken up and 
borne forward, after the fall of the Color Sergeant, by Lieutenant 
Fiederick E. Wilson, of Company H, and those of the Nineteenth 
Illinois by Captain David F. Bremner, of Company E, of their 
respective regiments. Taking into consideration the fact that 
when they went into this action both officers and men were worn 
out for want of rest, and by fatigue and exposure, their conduct 
in this memorable charge is beyond all praise." 

Colonel Mo()r(>, Lieutenant Colonel Raffen and Major 
(Juthrie, of the Nineteenth, were "conspicuous for their gallantry; 
and the same could be said with equal justice of all the other 
officers and the men in the regiment." 

The report of Colonel William L. Stoughton, of the Eleventh 
Michigan Infantry (General King was absent), commanding 
the entire Second Brigade, reads as follows: 

Ileadquai ters Second Brigade, First Division, 
Fourteenth Army Corps. 

Chattanooga, December 5, 1863. 
Sir: — I have the honor to submit the following report of the 
operations of the forces untler my command in the action of the 
twenty-fifth ultimo, and the subsequent pursuit of the enemy. 
During the forenoon of that day, the Brigade was withdrawn 
from the picket line and formed in front of the Rossville Road. 
The right wing, composetl of the first and second battalions of 
the Fifteenth and Eighteenth, the Sixteenth and Nineteenth 



The Nineteenth Illinois 375 

United Stales Infantry, was placed wnder the immediate 
command of Major Edie, and the left, com[)osed of the Sixty-ninth 
Ohio, Nineteenth Illinois, and Eleventh Michigan Volunteers, 
under the command of Colonel Moore. About one p. m., by 
your orders, I moved the brigade to the left and closed on the 
right of General Sheridan's Division, the First Brigade of this 
Division closing on our right and completing the line of attack. 

Our position at this time was partially concealed by the 
woods. An open field extended thence nearly half a mile to 
Missionary Ridge — a strong position occupied by the enemy 
and fortified by a line of rifle-pits about half way up the side, a 
stout breastwork on the crest, with cannon planted at intervals. 
Between three and four p. m., orders were received to attack the 
enemy's works, and the whole line at once advanced. On 
emerging from the woods the troops weie exposed to a heavy fire 
from the enemy's artillery. The skirmishers covering our fuont 
at the same time engaged those of the enemy, driving them in, 
and the whole line moved rapidly and in admirable order across 
the field. On reaching the base of the hill the fire of the Confed- 
erates, both of infantry and artillery, became still more destruc- 
tive, and I gave orders to charge the first line of rifle-pits. These 
were speedily carried, and most of the enemy occupying them 
were either disabled or captured and sent to the rear. 

After resting a few minutes for the men to recover their 
breath and to close up the ranks, the order was passed along 
the line to charge the breastworks. At the command the whole 
line sprang forward in gallant style and moved rapidly up the 
steep and difficult ascent. When near the crest they dashed 
forward with a shout of victory, routing the enemy, drove him 
from his stronghold, and captured a large number of prisoners 
with one piece of artillery. 

The command bivouacked on the hill during the night, and 
next morning formed part of the column which followed in pur- 
suit of the retreating foe. Soon after dark we crossed a small 
creek about a mile south of Graysville, and by your direction I 
formed the Brigade in line of battle and moved through a piece 
of woods to attack the enemy on a road leading from that place 
to Ringgold. On approaching the road we surprised and cap- 
tured his pickets, and learning his position moved promptly 
forward and made a vigorous attack, capturing over sixty 
prisoners, one flag, three pieces of artillery, two caissons with 



376 The Nineteenth Illinois 

horses and equipment complote. One nun, dismount cd and 
thrown over the river bank, and two caissons, abandoned l)y 
the enemy in hi.s flight, were found the next morning and secured. 
The captured artillery was known as Ferguson's Battery. 

We remained at (iraysville during the night, and early next 
morning one regiment was sent to Chattanooga with the captured 
artillery while the remaider of the Brigade resumed the march to 
Ringgold. On arriving at that place a line of battle was imme- 
diately formed in front of a range of hills occupied by the enemy. 
The position was, however, carried by the troops who were en- 
gaged when we came up. The command remained here until 
the twenty-ninth ultimo, when, pursuant to orders, we returned 
to camp at Chattanooga. 

It would be doing injustice to the troops of my connnand if 
I were to close this report without mentioning the noble and gal- 
lant manner in which they performed the duties required of them. 
Although somewhat exhausted by three days' incessant picket 
duty prior to the Battle of Missionary Ridge, they neither hes- 
itated nor faltered, but entered into the engagement with the 
ardor and enthusiasm of fresh troops, nor were they last upon 
the Ridge. 

The Brigade captiu-ed in all five pieces of artillery, one- 
stand of colors, and six hundred and thirty-nine prisoners, in- 
cluding one colonel. The Brigade went into action with (>ighty- 
six commissioned officers and 1,455 enlisted men, making an 
aggregate of 1,54L Of these twenty-five were killed and one 
hundred and thirty-six wounded. 

I have the honor to be. 

Very resjiectfuUy, your obedient servant, 

William L. Stoughton, 
Colonel Eleventh Michigan Infantry, 
Commanding Brigade. 
Brig. (!kx. R. W. Johxson, 

Commanding First Division. 

REPORT OF A REGIMENTAL COMMANDER. 

lleadcjuarters Nineteenth Illinois Infantry. 

Chattanooga, Tenn., December 3, 1863. 
Sir: — In obedience to orders, I would respectfully report 
thai my Regiment went on picket duty the morning of Sunday, 



The Nineteenth Illinois 377 

November 22, and reinained on lluit duly until al)oiit two-tliirty 
o'clock p. m. Wednesday, November 25, when we were relieved 
and took position on the left of the Brigade, in the right front 
of Fort Wood. By your direction, I then deployed one company 
as skirmishers to connect with the right of the line of skirmishers 
of General Sheridan's Division, which was on our left. We then 
advanced in line of battle toward Missionary Ridge, emerging 
from the wood into the open plain, about three-thirty p. m., 
under a very heavy fire of both artillery and infantry, and took 
possession of the enemy's rifle-pits at the foot of the hill. Resting 
a moment or two only, we advanced up the ridge dislodging the 
enemy after a most desperate resistance, and secured position on 
the crest at about four-thirty p. m., owr regimental colors being 
the first on the top of the ridge in this part of the line. The enemy 
fled in disorder, and we captured one piece of artillery in a ravine 
at the foot of the Ridge, on the eastern side, which was after- 
ward taken possession of by a regiment of Sheridan's Division. 
While ascending the ridge the Colonel of the Seventh Florida 
Infantry surrendered to me, and I sent him to the rear under 
guard. Quite a large number of prisoners passed through our 
lines, and we sent them to the rear without guards. The reg- 
iment went into bivouac on the top of the Ridge at about five- 
thirty p. m. 

I would make special mention of Major James V. Gutkrie, 
who was conspicuous in cheering the men in the charge up the 
hill; Captain David F. Bremner, of Company E, who planted 
our Colors with his own hands in the rebel works on the crest of 
the hill; Captain James G. Campbell, of Company F, who was 
wounded, near the top of the hill, while in advance of the line 
cheering the men forward; Captain Presley N. Guthrie, of Com- 
pany K, who was also conspicuous in cheering and urging the 
men forward during the whole action; and Adjutant Lester G. 
Bangs, who was severely wounded while in advance of the line 
as we emerged from the wood at the foot of the hill. I would 
also mention, for most gallant conduct. Sergeant George Steel, of 
Company E, Color bearer, and Private Patrick McDonald, of 
Company K, and John Brosnahan, of Company E, who took the 
Colors in turn after the Color Sergeant had been wounded. In fact, 
every man engaged behaved with gi'eat coolness and gallantry. 



378 The Nineteenth Illinois 

The whole force present in the engagement was thirteen 
officers an(i one hundred and eighty-two non-commissioned 
officers and privates, of whom were killed two privates; wounded, 
two officers and twenty-two enlisted men; missing, none. Total 
killed and wounded twenty-six. The number who bivouacked 
on the top of the hill was ten officers and one luuidred and fifty- 
seven enlisted men. 



APPENDIX 



ILLINOIS. 



"By thy rivers gently flowing, 

Illinois, Illinois, 
O'er thy prairies verdant growing, 

Illinois, Illinois, 
Comes an echo on the breeze. 
Rustling thro' the leafy trees, 
And its mellow tones are these — 

Illinois, Illinois. 

When you heard your Country calling, 

Illinois, Illinois, 
Where the shot and shell were falling, 
Illinois, Illinois, 
When the Southern host withdrew. 
Putting Gray against the Blue, 
There were none more brave than you, 
Illinois, Illinois. 

Not without thy wondrous story, 

Illinois, Illinois, 
Can be writ the Nation's glory, 

Illinois, Illinois; 
On the record of thy years 
Abraham Lincoln's name appears. 
Grant and Logan, and our tears, 

Illinois, lUinois." 



The Nineteenth Illinois 383 



THE COLORS WHICH WE FOLLOWED. 



"Forever float that Standard sheet! 

Where breathes the" foe but falls b(>f()re us, 
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet, 

And Freedom's Banner streaming o'or us!" 

— Joseph Rodman Drake. 

Of course, and during the war, flags were to be seen on 
either side; but the same Flag, the Stars and Stripes, was 
the proud Emblem of all Union soldiers and sailors. In the 
armies Its regimental folds were inscribed in historic gild 
with the names of battles, and often was crimsoned with 
the blood of the brave men who carried It. We also had 
the state Flag in each regiment ; but it was the Star Spangled 
Banner that we ever honored most; and, it is hardly neces- 
sary to record the fact that this was the one thing which the 
Nineteenth Illinois Infantry held the dearest of all its pos- 
sessions. It was a great disgrace for a regiment to lose its 
Colors in battle ; and emphasis may be laid on the fact that 
such shame never fell to the Nineteenth during its many 
combats; yet did we capture those of the enemy.* 

Immediately after the battle of Stone River the people 
of Chicago determined to present our Regiment with a 
new Stand of Colors. Our Flags, already worn by usage, 
whipped into holes by the winds, riddled by bullets in num- 
erous skirmishes or heavier engagements, were almost 
entirely done for in those two days near Murfreesboro, and 

^1 *The Confederacy changed its flag three times during the Rebellion. First came 

the "stars aud bars," hoisted over the Capitol at Montgomery the fourth of 
March, 1861; with its seven stars and three stripes, it looked, amid dust aud smoke, so 
much like the repudiated Union Flag that something more original was sought for. 
Then came a battU' flag with a rsd field crossed by two blue bars, each bearing six 
gilt stars, besides a large one in the certer; and finally it was the "Southern cross," 
which the surviving Confederates honor to this day. 



384 The Nineteenth Illinois 

this fact having come to the knowledge of our friends at 
home, in due course, Flags bright and beautiful, as rich and 
costly a set as ever gladdened any regiment, were in our 
hands; and for a matter of one year and five months, although 
in many a combat, never were those colors lowered in de- 
feat. Not one single touch of disgrace or dishonor, not the 
slightest spot of shame or cowardice, not the breath of a 
blunder, nor that of discomfiture, no trace of ever having 
been vanquished, can be found in their record. But in 
their Stars and Stripes, in the Red, White and Blue of their 
composition can be read the story of Victory accomplished, 
of Duty to the National Government faithfully performed, 
of the Honor of the dear State of Illinois firmly and devoted- 
ly upheld by officers and men alike, whose names are borne 
on the rolls of the Regiment with which this volume deals. 
And the Colors once so proudly followed by the Nineteenth 
may now^ be seen in the Capitol Building at Springfield, 
Illinois. They were delivered to Governor Richard Yates 
by Comrade Lieutenant John Young, and today they hang, 
with many other regimantal Flags, Standards, Guidons, 
etc., and many another War Relic, in Memorial Hall, at 
the Capital of a State which sent no fewer than one hundred 
and fifty-six Regiments of Infantry, seventeen of Cavalry, 
and two of Artillery, a total of about 259,000 soldiers, to 
the Front in the Civil War! 



The Nineteenth Illinois 385 

SCATTERING SHOTS. 



ITINERARY OF THE REGIMENT. 

The following itinerary of the Regiment will prove of interest and be of 
value in determining disputed questions as to the location of the Regiment 
on any given date. It was compiletl from the regimental monthly reports 
and the writer believes it to be absolutelv correct. 



Aug. 



1861. Arrived at 

July 13 Quincy, Illinois. 

14 Hannibal, Missouri. 
'' 14 Palmyra, " 

21 Emerson 

" 22 Philadelphia, 

" 22 Palmyra, 

" 27 St. Louis, " 

4 Bird's Point, 

5 Norfolk, 

15 Bird's Point, 

17 Sulphur Springs, " 

18 Pilot Knob, " 
31 Jackson, " 

7 Cape Girardeau, 

9 Fort Holt, Kentucky. 

14 Elliott's Mills, 

16 Cairo, Illinois. 

17 Accident on O. & M. R. R 

18 Cincinnati, Ohio. 

19 Camp Dennison, " 

24 Cincinnati, " 

25 Louisville, Kentucky. 
25 Lebanon June, ." 

1 Chicago, 

2 Lebanon June, " 
25 Ehzabethtown, *' 
16 First issue Zouave Gazette. 
12 Bacon Creek, Kentucky. 



Sept. 



Oct. 



Nov. 
Dec. 



May 
June 



1862. 

Feb. 12 

March 4 

" 19 

April 6 

9 

" 11 

" 27 

" 30 

27 

2 

3 

4 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

15 

16 

17 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

30 

July 22 



Arrived at 

Bowling Green, Kentucky. 
Nashville, Tennessee. 
Murfreesboro, " 

Shelbyville, " 

Fayetteville, " 

Huntsville, Alabama. 

Tuscumbia, " 

Huntsville, " 

Athens, " 

Fayetteville, Tennessee. 
Salem, " 

Cowan, " 

Sweden's Cove, " 

Jasper, " 

Chattanooga, " 

Andrews Farm, " 

Jasper, " 

Near Stevenson, Alabama. 
Crow Creek, " 

Belief onte, " 

Huntsville, " 

Rock Springs, " 

Winchester, " 

Camden, " 

Paint Rock Sta., " 
Larkinsville, " 

Belief onte, 

Stevenson, " 

Bridgeport, " 

Huntsville, " 



38(3 



The Nineteenth Illinois 



Itinerary of the Regiment — Continued. 



1862. 




Arrived at 


1863 




July 22 to 


Aug. 26. Scattered along 


Sept. 


11 






M. & C. and T. & A. C. 


" 


11 






R. R. guarding bridges; 


" 


17 






headquarters at Hunts- 


" 


19 






ville; left Huntsville, 


" 


20 






Aug. 26. 


u 


20 


Aug. 


30 


Nashville, Tennessee. 


" 


22 


u 


31 


Lavergne, " 


Nov. 


25 


Sept. 


1 


Murfreesboro, " 






(( 


6 


Xa.shvillc, '' 


" 


26 


Dec. 


31 


Battle Stone River, Tenn 


" 


27 


1863 






" 


29 


Jan. 1&2 


Battle Stone River, Tenn. 


1864 




ti 


3 


Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 


Feb. 


22 


March 4 


Brady ville, " 


" 


23 


(( 


4 


Murfreesboro, " 


(( 


23 


(I 


9 


Salem, 


(( 


25 


ti 


15 


Murfreesboro, " 


" 


27 


June 


24 


Marched via : 


it 


27 


(( 


25 


Hoover's Gap, " 


March 2 


(( 


26 


Beech Grove, " 


May 


3 


<< 


27 


Fairfield, 


u 


7 


If 


27 


Manchester, " 


" 


14 


u 


30 


Tallahoma, " 


II 


15 


July 


1 


Winchester, " 


II 


17 


(( 


2 


Elk River, 


11 


18 


(( 


8 


Decherd, 


" 


19 


(( 


10 


Cowan, 


u 


23 


(( 


13 


Tantallen, 






<< 


15 


Anderson, " 


June 


2 


<( 


IS 


To Cave Springs, Georgia. 


" 


7 


Sept. 


1 


Caperton's Ferry, Ala. 


Our ter; 


" 


2 


Opposite Bridgeport " 


pired 


we 


(< 


3 


On Raccoon M'nt's " 


journey fr 


(( 


4 


Near Trenton, Georgia. 


June 


10 


" 


6 


On Lookout Creek, " 


u 


13 


II 


7 


Stevens Gap, " 


" 


15 


11 


8 


On Lookout M't'n, " 


" 


17 


II 


9 


Bailey's Crossr'ds, " 


l( 


18 


(f 


10 


Davis Crossroads, " 


July 


9 



.\rrived at 
Dug Gap, Georgia. 

Bailey's Crossr'ds, '' 
Craw Fish Springs, " 
Battle Chickam'ga, " 
Battle Chickam'ga, '" 
Rossville Gap, Tenne.s.see. 
Chattanooga, " 

Battle Missionary 

Ridge, 
Grayville, Georgia. 

Ringgold, " 

Chattanooga, Tennes.see. 



Georgia. 



Ringgold, 
Tunnel Hill, 
Catoosa Station, " 
Buzzard's Roost, " 
Parker's Gap, " 

Tyners Station, Tennessee. 
Grayville, Georgia. 

Ringgold, " 

Tunnel Hill, 
Hat. of Resaca, 
Bat. of Resaca, " 

Calhoun, " 

Adairsville, " 

Kingston, " 

Left Kingston on Atlanta 

campaign 
Burnt Hickory, Georgia. 
.\ckworth, " 

Our term of service having about ex- 
tart ed on our homeward 
journey from .\ckworth, Ga., on June 7. 
Chattanooga, Tennessee. 
Nashville, " 

Louisville, Kentucky. 
Chicago, Illinois. 
Camp Fry. 
Mustered out. 






w "ti i 


^ 














3'n 


f. 














<*, - a: 


_ 






t^^ 


J 






















< j-ii_; 


rs 




■*i 
























o 




-r 












a 








-u 








tc 










c 






•^ 


ci 














•-^T 


~ 














*^ 








h 








;-l 








c5 


tj 






m 


05 






t4 









s 






"^ 


> 

■3 


i .i 

c^3 




t-i 


^ 








^^ 


- . 


2 


" X 


.^ 


^ --^ 




Z M 


^1 s 


y) 


S'S 


_o 


f-3~ 


^ 


s:§ 




<^ • 






^S 


^-/^ 





=0 


&H 


c :; . 


^ 


^-, 



M 



U 



-- Ti rt -• •- •■= 



0) ji— . 



5 .•=« 



2^ ?~i^ o 



The Nineteenth Illinois 387 

Lieutenant Thomas M. Beatty, Co. A. A most excellent officer. 
Perhaps no one did more to keep alive the spirit of true comradeship amons 
the survivors of the Regiment. 

As a soldier, none had a better record. He was wounded during the 
attack on Chattanooga in 1862. Owing to his Captain, and 1st Lieutenant 
being on detached service, he was in command of his company in every battle. 

He died March 15, 1904. 

Adjutant Lester G. Bangs. The sketch of his exjjerience at the Battle 
of Stone River, printed in the preceeding pages, will interest the survivors. 

Wounded at Chickamauga, he was with us again at Missionary Ridge, 
when he was again wounded, resulting in the amputation of his leg. He now 
resides in Carroll, Iowa. 

Corporal David McArthur, Co. E, was one of the most gallant and 
meritorious soldiers in the Regiment. He was severely wounded at the Battle 
of Stone River. 

During a reconnaissance in force to Buzzard'sRoost, near Dalton, Georgia, 
February, 1864, the enemy was in a strong position in the mountain gap, 
and a severe engagement followed. Corporal McArthur, acting Sergeant, 
was in charge of part of our Picket lines. About dark our main force was or- 
dered to retire, and McArthur instructed to hold the hne for some time after 
the Brigade had moved. The night was dark. McArthur performed hi.s 
critical duty in the face of a watchful enemy with gi-eat skill and ability and 
without loss. 

A party of Regulars on Picket on his right were also safely guided by him. 
When the party reached the Brigade, the officer in charge of the Regulars 
was surprised to learn that he had been following the lead of a Corporal of 
Volunteers. Corporal McArthur lives in comfort in New Era, Oregon, 
prominent in the G. A. R., honored and respected by all in his section of 
the State, as a model citizen. 

Captain Charles Stuart, Co. B, was a most gallant commander. He 
died Jime 9, 1889. His successor, Captain Alexander Murchison served 
until our muster out. He was an able and fearless officer. He died Sep- 
tember 3, 1903. 

Lieut. Wm. Jackson, his able assistant, died December 10, 1897. 

"Comrade Jackson enlisted at Elmira as sergeant in Company B, and 
was mustered with the Regiment June 17, 1861; was promoted to second 
lieutenant October 30, 1861, and to first lieutenant July 15, 1862. He re- 
mained with the regiment at the front constantly, and took part in all the 



388 The Nineteenth Illinois 

battles in which it was engaged until mustered out, July 9, 1864, when its 
twm of service expired. 

"After the war he was for some years connected witli the State mihtia. 
He organized the Elmira Zouaves in July, 1884, the company being attached 
to the Fourth Regiment Illinois National duard, and in April, 1891, was 
commissioned Colonel of that regiment. 

•'Fraternally, Comrade Jackson was a Royal Aix-h Mason, and a charter 
member of James Jackson Post, No. 37, G. A. R." 

That he was a splendid soldier, a brave and manly man and a sincere 
and faithful friend, is the unanimous testimony of his comrades of the Nine- 
teenth. 

This splendid Companj' made an enviable record during its years of 
service. Captain Murchison in 1884 jn-epared the following sketch of its 
organization. 

"The Company was first organized some time in the summer of 1858, as a 
Horse Company, at Elmira, Stark Co., 111., to compete for a premium of $50 
offered by the Agricultural Society of Stark County; $25 for the best twenty- 
five horses, and $25 for the best trained twenty-five horses and riders, to be 
competed for at the County Fair held at Toulon in September, 1858. Both 
l^reiniums were taken by the Elmira Company, with that old stalwart go- 
ahead Captain, Chas. Stuart (so well known to the 19th) commanding. 
In this contest several other companies competed, but had no show. 

During the Fall of 1858, the Company did good work as escort in political 
l)rocessions (for who does not remember the hot and earnest campaigns of 
'58 and '60?) and had the honor of escorting that grandest of men, A. Lincoln 
into Toulon, the County Seat of Stark, headed by 86 young ladies, mounted 
on horseback, each representing a State, followed by a long train of wagons 
and carriages (just such a turnout as Elmira could beat all out-doors on) with 
Capt. Stuart at the head. 

F'rom this time up to April 13, 1860, the Company met occasionally for 
drill. On this occasion, it met to organize as a Rifle Company, to be known as 
the Elmira Rifles, and elected Chas. Stuart, Captain; A. Murchison, 1st 
Lieutenant but he gave way to S. M. Hill, who claimed considerable military 
knowledge, taking 2nd Lieutenant. The commissions issued to said offi- 
cers were signed John Wood, Governor; O. M. Hatch, Secretary of State; 
Thomas S. Mather, Adjutant General, I. S. M., registered in Book A, page 
62, and assigned the Company to the 67th Regiment I. S. M. 

The Company, thus organized, numbered some forty members, and met 
occasionally during the year 1860 and early Spring of '61, for drill. When 
matters began to look warlike, a number of young men from Lafayette joined 



The Nineteenth Illinois 389 

with us, increasing our numbers to 75 or 80, and at the first call for 75,000 men 
we offered our services to Gov. Yates, but found there was no room for us. 
We then disbanded the Lafayette part of the Company, but kept up the 
original organization, and went about our every day business. The writer 
hereof went to his old calling of breaking prairie, but yet somewhat doubtful 
of that 75,000 men being able to thrash all Rebeldom into good behavior 
And, sure enough, as I came in from my work one Saturday evening, my sister 
Came to the door and handed' me an envelope, which I found contained a 
telegram from Springfield, ordering the Elmira Rifle Company to report in 
Chicago on June 12, 186L I then said good bye to that breaking plow, for 
I never saw it after that afternoon, though I do not think that the share was 
beaten into either a sword or a pruning hook. I found myself in quite a quan- 
dary, with a company numbering only forty men. Captain Stuart in Ver- 
mont on a visit, with only two days to work in and one of those days Sunday. 
I remembered distinctly that I slept but little, but thought a good deal on 
that Saturday night. But morning found me ready for work. After an early 
breakfast, I started for Osceola, notified Orderly Sergeant Dr. Pashley to have 
notice given in the churches at Osceola, and sent a notice to be given in the 
churches at Elmira, that there would be a meeting held at Osceola (which 
meeting was held in the M. E. Church) on Monday afternoon, to fill the Com- 
pany to the required number. From there I went to Kewanee, sent a dispatch 
to Captain Stuart notifying him that the Company was ordered to be in Chi- 
cago on the 12th day of June, 1861, and spent the remainder of the day, till 
late at night, notifying every one I saw of the meeting, requesting their at- 
tendance. At that meeting, the number on our roll was increased to 75 or 80. 

THE COMPANY STARTS FOR CHICAGO. 

Tuesday evening, we started from Kewanee to Chicago with 86 men, 
but still lacked 15 men of the number we wanted, for nothing would suit us 
but a full Company, 101. Here, Uncle Johnny and Dr. Boardman came to 
the rescue by saying to us: "Go on, boys, with what you have, we will see to 
it that you have your full quota." And, sure enough, the third morning 
after going into Camp Long, Uncle Johnny TurnbuU came charging into 
Camp with several more men than we wanted, making it necessary for us 
to transfer three to Company C and two to Company D. But to go back to 
our arrival in Chicago: We had no orders where to report or who to report to. 
I knew that we would be all right if Stuart could only get there, and I knew 
if it was possible he would be there. And, sure enough, he was. I don't 
know that I ever felt better pleased than I did as I heard Captain Stuart's 
quick sharp "Halt!" as we were rounding the corner of the City Hotel, corner 



390 The Nineteenth Illinois 

of Lake and State streets. The first thing on the programme then was break- 
fast at the City Hotel, next, a hall to stop in till a camp was established. 
During the day, we found that grand and noble soldier, Col. Joseph R. Scott, 
who so willingly gave his young and manly life for his country. From this 
time out, the history of Company li and the 19th is one and the same. In 
its trials and joys and fame there is no distinction of Companies. They were 
one — the gallant Nineteenth." 

Thomas E. Patterson, Company E. One of the youngest soldiers in 
the Regiment. He disjilajctl marked courage and ability in the performance 
of everj' duty assigned him. Soon after the war he went West, where his 
sterling qualities soon brought him deserved recognition and prosperitj'. He 
is now serving his second term as Ma\'or of the flourishing city of North 
Platte, Nebraska. 

CoRPOKAL Howard (Field) Bearusley, Company I. Comrade Beardsley. 
of Company I, a most gallant soldier was seriously injured in the railroad 
wreck of September 17, 1861. After an absence of several months, he re- 
joined his regiment and served out his three years. He claims that he and 
M. Y. Foley were the first Iowa boys to enlist for three years and they had to 
go to Cialena, Illinois, to do it. Mr. Beardsley comes from a patriotic family. 
Col. David Field of Deerfield, Mass., who commanded the Hampshire County 
Regiment during the War of the Revolution, was his great, great grandfather; 
Elihu Field, a revolutionary soldier, was his great grandfather, and his grand- 
father, Henry Field, served in the War of 1812. 

H. S. Dietrich, Company A. Comrade Dietrich was among the young- 
est in our ranks. After over three years of honorable service, during which 
he participated in the stirring events described in these pages with distin- 
guished gallantry. 

He later was appointed State Inspector of Rifle Practice, with the rank 
of Colonel. He died July 8, 1909. 

Corporal Thomas G. Trawler, Company E. Comrade Lawler, one of 
the best soldiers in the Regiment, active in the G. A. R. He was elected 
Commander in Chief in 1894. Successful in civil life, he was greatly honored 
and respected by his fellow citizens of Rockford, 111, where he died Feb- 
ruary A. 1908. 

SER(iEA.\T W. H. WiLDEY OF CoMPANY A, better known as Harry, is 
still active. He was a most gallant soldier, as Sergeant of General O. M. 
Mitchel's Scouts in Tennessee and northern .\labama. He proved his sterling 



The Nineteenth Illinois 391 

soldierly abilities in many daring scouts, and was highly commended by his 
superior officer. He is a leading citizen of Mount Carroll, 111. He left us 
August 17, 1863 to accept promotion as First Lieutenant in another Regiment. 

Lieutenant H. E. Carter, Company D, a fine officer and gallant sol- 
dier. Owing to his residence in another State, he has been with us but 
seldom since the War days. His former comrades will be pleased to see his 
likeness. He is comfortably situated and well preserved. His home is in 
Detroit, Michigan. 

Sergeant Thomas Blythe, Company E. Every survivor will be 
pleased to look on the picture of Sergeant Tom. None better in the Regi- 
ment, a brave soldier and a most excellent non-commissioned officer. 

He is now a resident of Denver, Colorado, .somewhat enfeebled, but 
deeply interested in the welfare of his fcwmer comrades in arms. 

All will read the following with interest: 
Sergeant Blythe's Demand on Governor Andrew Johnson. 

The following incident has been furnished by Comrade Blythe, of Denver, 
Colorado, formerly Sergeant of Co. E. 

While lying in camp at Nashville, Tenn., in September, 1862, we learned 
that two of our company, privates Mann and Welch, had been shot by a 
citizen down town. The men were dead when brought to camp, and we were 
informed that the murderer had been taken under guard to the 42d Illinois 
camp on the Franklin Pike; about thirty-five or forty of us started after the 
man determined to bring him over to our own camp for punishment. On 
arriving at the 42d Illinois camp, however, we found that he had been taken 
to the capitol; we then decided to proceed to thecajjitol and secure him, and 
being the ranking sergeant present, I took command of the detachment and 
marched them to the capitol gi'ounds, and leaving them resting on their arms 
outside, Corporals Guthrie, Huntington and myself proceeded to find the 
Governor, Andrew Johnson, who we found in Company with Colonel Gilman, 
of the First Tennessee, coming down the steps. I at once demanded the 
prisoner of the governor and he inquired by what authority I made the demand. 
I replied that as the men who were killed belonged to our company we took the 
authority upon ourselves, as we thought the prisoner should be tried by drum 
head court-martial. W^e could do nothing with the governor, however; in- 
stead, he ordered Col. (Jilman to place us all under arrest, and to send us to 
General Negley's headquarters. On arriving there I stated the case to the 
General, who did not seem to think very highly of it anil gave us a great 
talk about foraging. I told him we had not been foraging but it did not 
seem to make much impression, and he gave us another lecture, telling us 



392 The Nineteenth Illinois 

what a jnoat breach of inihtary disiciilinc 1 had boon guilty of in taking so 
many armed men out of camp without instructions from the officer in com- 
mand, and demanding a prisoner from the governor of the state. And when 
he got through I thought it was all up with me. However, he finally told me 
to take the men back to camp, and that he would see that the prisoner was 
duly tried and punished. I was glad to get off so cheaply, but to my knowl- 
edge nothing was ever done to the niurtlerer. 

Lieutenant Alvah Mansur, Company H, died at Pasadena, Cal. Com- 
rade Mansur enlisted at Moline, 111., in the Moline Rifles, and was mustered 
with that company into the Nineteenth Illinois as second lieutenant June 17, 
1861. He was jjromoted to fnist lieutenant Dec. 1, 1861, and resigned July22. 
1863. 

After the war Comrade Mansur engaged in the manufacture of agricultural 
implements at St. Louis, Mo., under the firm name of Deere, Mansur & Co., 
which attained a world-wide celebrity. 

He was a courteous and capable officer, and a talented and educated 
gentleman. He always took an appreciative interest in the club, and was 
most liberal in furthering any wortiiy object which it undertook. 

Capt.\in K. H. Chandler, Co.mpany F, was an able and fearless officer, 
quiet and unassuming. At the Battle of Stone River, January 2, 1863, he 
was instantly killed while leading his company. No more loyal or gallant 
officer than he fell in defense of his country. 

Sergeant Rueben F. Coffin of Company G, later of Bridges' Battery, 
a most gallant soldier, in a recent letter, referring to the Battle of Missionary 
Ridge, .says: "Our Battery was stationed on Orchard Knob, where I think 
we did credit to the Regiment. We exploded two cai-ssons on the Ridge, near 
Bragg's headquart(>rs, but as our lines advanced up the Ridge we had to cease 
firing. I then had a chance to observe the Infantry lines. Our attention was 
attracted to one Flag, near the right of Bragg's headquarters, and watched it 
closely, as it was in advance — saw it go down twice; that meant two Color 
bearers shot ; but Flag or line did not stop. I heard General Granger exclaim, 
'Oh! how I would like to shake hands with that Color bearer.' I learned 
later it was the Flag of the Nineteenth Illinois. All honor to the Nine- 
teenth. I feel i)roud of the record they made and that I belonged to the 
organization." 

Comrade Coffin resides at \\'ulnut (Jrove, Longmount, Colorado. 

Lieutenant John Dedrick, Company H. A most gallant and fearless 
officer, always on duty with his company. He is now retired from active 



The Nineteenth Illinois 393 

duties, after a successful business career in his home city, Geneseo, Illinois. 

James Gaffney, Company A. Comrade Gaff ney remains with us — the 
same genial spirit as when with us in his youth. As soldier or wagon 
master he was always to be relied on, and always at the front. 

James Bloomfield, Company' A. Comrade Bloomfield, Secretary of the 
Nineteenth Illinois Veteran Club, is an earnest and devoted worker in t he inter- 
est of our Club. He is also a member of the Committee having in charge the 
publication of this, our History, on which he has done much valuable woik. 

His record as a soldier is an enviable one, always ready for duty, brave in 
action, cheerful and contented. No matter what befell, he was throughout his 
service a "model soldier." 

During an engagement near Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1862, he was taken 
jM-isoner, and after much suffering, was duly exchanged, and again entered the 
ranks of the Regiment, serving until our final muster out, July 9, lSfi4. 



394 The Nineteenth Illinois 

The WTiter regrets he did not secure photographs of all 
who deserved recognition. Among the missing, all of whom 
served with courage and devotion, we mention the following: 

Quartermaster Sergeant H. A. Downs. 

llobt. R. Sampson, Company A. 

Joseph M. Spahn, Company A. 

John Q. Fergus, Company A. 

James C. McElhose, Company C. 

Miles Martin, Company C. 

Thomas King, Company E. 

T. H. Agnew, Company' E. 

Sergeant Joseph T. Johnson, Company K. 

James Fenton, Company K. 

Andrew Burns, Company K. 

Wm. Butler, Company K. 

Albert Heller, Company K. 

James Ryan. 

Wm. C. Burton. 

And manv others. 



The Nineteenth Illinois 395 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



J. Henry Haynie frontispiece. 

opposite page. 

Applebee, Frank 280 

Bangs, Lester G., Adjutant 176 

Beardsley', Howard F 320 

Beatty', T. M., Lieutenant 152 

Bloomfield, James 256 

Bremner, David F., Captain 78 

Bremner, David F., Overcoat 272 

BoLLES, Jacob 184 

Blythe, Thomas 280 

Brinkman, August 184 

Carter, H. E., Lieutenant 312 

Chandler, K. W., Captain 208 

Christian, W. H 218 

Coffin, Reuben F 256 

Dedrick, John, Lieutenant 312 

Gaffney, James 320 

Guthrie, James V., Major 80 

Guthrie, Peter F 256 

Haynie, J. Henry, Commander Charles Ward Post, G. A. R . . 349 

Heath, Charles G 184 

Jackson, William, Lieutenant 176 

Kelly Field, Chickamauga 224 

Lawler, Thomas G 144 

McArthur, David 144 

Mansur, Alvah, Lieutenant 208 



396 The Nineteenth Illinois 

Illustrations — Continued. 

opposite page. 

Mercek, John 312 

Monument, Snodgrass Hill 293 

Monument, Missionary Ridge 302 

Monument, Missionary Ridge Dedication 304 

Monument, Missionary Ridge, Bronze Panel 300 

Negley, James S., Major General 168 

Nevins, Wm., Drum Major 320 

Officers' CJroup, 1864 16 

Patterson, T. C 280 

Raffen, Alex W>, Lieutenant Colonel 80 

Rosecrans, W. S., Major General 192 

Reunion, 1888 32 

Reunion, 1911 58 

Scott, Joseph R., Colonel 80 

Swift, R. K., Brigadier General 64 

Snodgrass House, Chickamauga 232 

Thomas, George H., Major General 160 

Turchin, John B., Brigadier General 96 

Vreeland, John E 218 

WiLDEY, \V. H 144 

Young, John, Lieutenant 240 

Company B 387 



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